Silence
by TheLovelyRusher
Summary: Kendall thought it was over, that the monster of his past was gone. But after 10 years, he's back, and the secret is out. The silence has been broken, and now it's a sick game of revenge, father against son, as the man who ruined Kendall's life ruins the lives of those closest to him as well.
1. The beginning

**A/N I couldn't resist posting this! I really hope you guys like this, because I have been looking forward to this for ages. It will be rated T for child abuse, language, scenes of torture, and whatever else my sick mind comes up with. Enjoy! And I own nothing but David Knight, who I despise.**

_6__ year old Kendall Knight's small legs pounded up the wooden staircase as fast as he could move them. Tears mixed with sweat stung in his eyes, and his little chest heaved with each breath he struggled to take. He had to get away, he had to hide. The big man he had once affectionately called daddy was right behind him, and if he didn't get to a hiding place quickly, he knew his dad would hurt him again._

_With one last burst of strength, Kendall scrambled into the bathroom and slammed the door. He fumbled with the lock for a second before diving into the bathtub. He tugged the curtain closed so he was hidden and pulled his knees to his chest, waiting. He knew he would come. His dad always came from him when he drank from his bottles. Kendall had no idea what was in those bottles, but his dad had custard(1) over him every other weekend and sometimes on those weekends he would drink from the bottles and the liquid would turn him from being funny and silly and teaching Kendall how to play baseball into something like one of those scary monsters Kendall sometimes watched in those movies that his mommy would forbid him to watch, but Carlos would sneak over anyway._

_His dad knew he was in the bathroom. The door shook with each heavy bang as his father shoved his shoulder into the door to break it down. Kendall peered out of the shower curtain and gasped. He pulled it shut even tighter, as if the material would make him disappear completely, and laid down in the tub in a shaking ball. He jumped when he heard the doorframe crack as the door was ripped off its hinges and suddenly, 2 huge hands were gripping his shoulders painfully. Kendall grimaced and kept his eyes shut, singing "Jesus Loves Me" to himself to calm his nerves. There was nothing he could do now. His dad had only beaten him a few times before, but each beating hurt worse than the last one._

_In one swift movement, Kendall was swung out of the tub and against the hard tile of the bathroom wall. His father grabbed his chin roughly and forced him to look into his strikingly green gaze. Kendall flailed his legs uselessly as they dangled at least a foot off of the floor._

"_Daddy," Kendall sobbed. He wanted this to end. He was tired of his daddy hurting him, and the worst part was he didn't know why he was receiving such a cruel punishment. His mommy didn't even believe in spanking him, and before the divorce, his father had never laid anything but a loving hand on him._

"_What do you want, you little shit?" David Knight hissed, tightening his hold on his son's tiny body._

"_Leave me alone daddy," Kendall whimpered, and to his surprise, his daddy let him fall to the floor. Kendall huddled against the wall, looking up at his father in fear, unsure what the scary man was going to do next._

"_Fine! Is that what you want me to do? You want your dad to leave? Well you get your little fucking way! You won't have to see your old man ever again. Look at this, come here." David grabbed Kendall by the back of his neck as if he was a puppy dog and dragged him into the bedroom, where a couple of duffel bags lay on his bed. "You see this? I'm gone from your pitiful little life after this. I never want to have to look at your ugly face again, you little bitch." David brought a hand back and slapped Kendall's pale cheek hard, eliciting a cry of pain and sending his child's body to a crumpled heap on the floor. David grabbed his bags and Kendall just watched him. He wanted to stop his daddy from leaving, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. If his dad was going to be mean like this, than he wanted him gone from his life. It would just be him and his mommy until his new baby sister arrived, the way it should be._

"_Remember, you decide to tell your mother about anything to make my life miserable, I will take this shiny little gun, I will put it to your head, and I will blow your fucking brains out." David revealed a gun from his bag. Kendall whimpered and scooched underneath the bed in fear. The last thing he saw of his father was his bright emerald eyes glaring at him coldly. They used to be so warm and loving, and everyone would tell Kendall he had his daddy's eyes, but these eyes were filled with anger and hatred. They barely looked human._

_Without another word, David turned around and left and Kendall just watched him leave, praying that he would stay gone for the rest of his life. The young boy stayed huddled in the bedroom crying until the next morning, when his mother came to pick him up. She was stunned to find her child left home alone and her ex-husband gone without a trace. She picked Kendall's body up and held him tightly, asking over and over what had happened, but the image of of the shiny metal his father held in his hand was burned into his mind, something he would never forget, and he refused to tell her the truth._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendall thrashed his legs in a tangle of bed sheets. He was so scared. It was the worst fear he had ever felt in his life. It was almost paralyzing. He begged his mind to wake up from the horrible dream. He didn't want to see his father, even in his dreams. But there he was, running after Kendall just like he had 11 years ago. His eyes seemed to glow an evil shade of green as his hands finally wrapped around Kendall's neck…

"No!" Kendall shouted, sitting upright in his bed. He panted heavily as he looked around his room. It took him a moment to realize he was safe, surrounded by his soft pillows and blankets. A light clicked on and he looked over to his best friend's bed to find the raven haired boy staring at him worriedly.

"Dude?" Logan ventured cautiously, watching Kendall put a hand to his face and wipe the sweat dripping from his bangs. "Was that a nightmare?" Kendall didn't answer, he just worked on calming his breathing, and Logan took that as a yes. "You haven't had a nightmare in years, Kendall." Logan knew his older friend had been suffering from nightmares about his father ever since the divorce, but they had stopped a few years back. Even though he was never told the whole story, Logan just knew that Kendall and his dad didn't have the best of relationships.

"I know man," Kendall whispered. The fear was ebbing away slowly, only to be replaced with exhaustion. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No problem. You gonna be ok?"

Kendall nodded, not wanting to worry his friend any further at such an ungodly time of night. He burrowed himself underneath the blankets and closed his eyes. Logan watched him for a moment before turning off the dim table lamp next to him and lowering himself onto his pillow. It wasn't long before the small boy fell back asleep, but Kendall was awake the rest of the night. Every time he would shut his eyes, he would see his father holding that gun and chills would run up his spine. He had no idea why old nightmares were suddenly resurfacing. He just felt as if something bad was coming near him soon.

A few days had passed since the nightmare, and Kendall was trying hard to forget about the random dream. The images still plagued him but luckily, he didn't suffer from another nightmare. Instead, he had a creepy feeling running up his spine during his days. It was hard to describe. It was as if that bad feeling had never left him since that night he dreamt of his dad.

The boys were hard at work in the studio, recording a new song for a movie soundtrack, when Kendall's phone suddenly rang in the middle of his verse.

"Shoot, I should take this," Kendall said, looking at his caller I.D that read "mom". Mrs. Knight knew better than to call while he was at the studio unless it was an emergency.

"Dog! You can't just stop recording whenever you feel like it because you have a phone call!" Gustavo bellowed.

"It's my mom," Kendall said, and that shut Gustavo up. "Hey mom, what's up?"

"Hey honey, I'm sorry to bother you while you're at work but we have a little family emergency," Mrs. Knight said over the other line.

Kendall's bushy eyebrows knitted together in concern. "What's wrong? Is it Katie? She isn't sick, is she?"

"No honey. Katie is fine. I can't explain on the phone, I just need you to come home immediately for a meeting." Mrs. Knight's voice was pleading and the tingly feeling in Kendall's spine worsened.

"Ok mom, I'll be there in a few minutes," Kendall said nervously. He hung up and left the recording booth. "Gustavo, I need a ride home. It's an emergency meeting."

Gustavo huffed. "Fine, Freight Train will drive you. But I want you back here as soon as the little meeting is over, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Kendall said, already almost out the door with his band mates in tow. The ride back to the Palmwoods seemed to take ages, and Kendall stormed through the hallways up to his apartment.

"I wonder what's going on," Carlos whispered into Logan's ear. Honestly, he was a bit freaked out by the way Kendall was acting.

"Just hold tight 'Litos," Logan said as Kendall pushed the door to room 2J open. He felt his best friend's body freeze in front of him. "Um, Kendall?" Logan asked, confused until he saw a tall man sitting awkwardly on the couch across from Mrs. Knight. His hair was a dark blonde, nearly brown, and his ears were a piercing emerald color.

Logan watched the blood drain from Kendall's cheeks as his mouth silently formed a one-word question.

"Dad?"

**A/N Ok, I have huge, insane plans for this story. If you stick with me on this, I promise you won't be disappointed. So, um, please let me know what you think. I am so excited to work on this! It should be pretty intense. Please, please drop me a review and let me know what you think. Hope you all had a great weekend!**

**1: Awe, Kendall said custard instead of custody. He's so cute.**


	2. reunited

**A/N Wow! Thanks so much for the awesome response so far! You guys make me such a happy writer. Hope you enjoy!**

"Hey, son," Mr. Knight said carefully, giving his boy a smile. Kendall stood rigid in the doorway, face frozen in shock. He did not return the smile his father gave him. It took him every ounce of his being not to let his legs run as far away from the room as he could possibly get. Mrs. Knight watched the exchange between her ex-husband and son warily. Kendall never talked about his dad. For all she knew, he forgot his father ever even existed.

"M-mom, what's going on?" Kendall finally choked out.

"I'll explain in a little bit. Just, come inside boys. Sit down for a moment." Mrs. Knight took Kendall's hand in hers and attempted to bring him to the couch, but he refused to budge. He refused to go anywhere near the man he spent 11 years trying to forget about. He remembered everything his father did to him. Every memory of the beatings he had taken in secret from his father stood out vividly amongst any other memory from his childhood.

"Kendall, come on," Mrs. Knight urged, tugging him along. Before he knew it, he was standing right in front of the man he was forced to call his father. Mr. Knight was standing now, with his right arm extended for a handshake. Kendall looked away and ignored the gesture.

"Kendall Donald Knight," Mrs. Knight warned. She always prided herself on her children's good manners and this was no exception. She didn't expect Kendall to be comfortable with this situation, but she expected him to be polite.

Kendall glared at David and shook his hand coldly and briefly. David didn't even seem to notice. His face broke out in a huge grin and he pulled Kendall in for a bear hug. Kendall tensed and tried to break away from the uncomfortable embrace, but David held on tightly.

"I missed you son," David whispered in Kendall's ear, making him shiver. For the first time in a very long time, Kendall felt fear coursing violently through his veins. It was as if he couldn't speak or move. As soon as David released Kendall, he stumbled over to James, standing slightly behind him, which was very unusual for him.

"Hey, you ok?" James whispered worriedly. He could feel the tension between Kendall and his dad, and he knew his friend well enough to know he was scared. Kendall didn't answer him. He just stared at the floor, breathing shakily. He was in state of disbelief right now. He didn't want to believe that his father was standing in the same room as his family and best friends. This couldn't be happening. He was never supposed to come back.

"We're talking about this later," Logan whispered gently in Kendall's ear. He didn't like how pale his usually cool and confident friend was looking. Kendall just flinched when he saw David shake James' hand. He didn't want that filthy man touching his friends. It made his stomach feel sick when he shook Carlos and Logan's hands after James.

"Sit down, boys," Mrs. Knight instructed, gesturing to the couch. She knew this was going to be hard on Kendall, and even though she wished they could deal with this just her, David, and Kendall, she also knew Kendall would throw a fit if he couldn't have his friends at his side.

"You boys have gotten so big," David noticed. "The last time I saw any of you, you were this tall." David held his hand up about 4 feet off the ground. Carlos glanced nervously at Kendall and leaned into his side. He didn't even remember this man, but he was getting a weird vibe off of him.

"Are you sure that's your dad?" Carlos whispered. He didn't notice when Kendall didn't answer him. "Well, I guess he has your eyes."

Kendall was ready to explode inside. He hated when anyone made that comparison. He wasn't anything like his dad, not even his eye color. But he tried to remain calm and kept his features blank and stony.

"So I see you boys are in a band now, pretty popular one too, huh?" David asked, trying to make small talk. When Kendall didn't answer, his friends followed suit. If Kendall didn't like this man, than they didn't either.

"Kendall, baby, don't be difficult," Mrs. Knight said. Suddenly, the front door opened and in walked a small brunette girl with a curious look on her face.

"Hey, so what's this 'family emergency'?" She asked, making finger quotes in the air.

Over-protective instincts surged through Kendall. He knew Katie had never met her father. To some people, that could be sad, but to Kendall, that was the way it was supposed to be. He never wanted her to meet him. He didn't deserve to meet his daughter, and she didn't want her around him. If David had no problem hurting Kendall when he was a child, surely he would hurt Katie, too.

"Katie?" David asked. He knew even though he never met her that this was his daughter right away. The young girl looked just like his ex-wife.

"'Sup?" Katie said, unaware that this was the father she always used to ask Kendall about when she was little. She stopped asking after a while when she noticed Kendall always got tense whenever she brought the subject up.

Kendall suddenly got off the couch and stood next to his little sister, towering over her protectively. Katie raised her eyebrows and watched her brother. "Um, why does everyone look weird?"

"Katie, I'm your dad," David said. Katie's eyes went from curious to bewildered, glancing back and forth between her mother and brother.

"What?" She asked, looking to her brother for help. He nodded regretfully. "Oh," she said. "Cool." Katie walked off towards the kitchen to get a soda.

"What was that?" Kendall said, walking after his sister. He made sure he was out of ear reach from everybody in the living room when he spoke next. "That's it, just 'cool'? It is not cool, Katie. How can you be 'cool' with some sleazy man who has been absent your entire life?"

"I have better things to worry about," Katie said nonchalantly, grabbing 2 cola's from the fridge. She tossed when to Kendall but he put it aside. "You know, like brushing up on my 5 card stud. There's a big game tonight, laundry verses gardening."

"Katie, this is serious. This is our _dad,_ who you have never met before!"

"So? I never met him before so why should I care?" Katie said.

"Katie! Kendall!" Mrs. Knight yelled from the living room.

"Coming!" Katie called. "Look, if dad wants to make a reappearance, that's fine with me. It's mom's problem, not mine."

"You are so strange," Kendall said, to which Katie just shrugged, and they walked back into the living room. Kendall guided Katie to the couch so she sat right next to him, as far away from David as he could get her. The 5 kids and 2 adults sat awkwardly for a couple minutes before Mrs. Knight nudged David with her elbow.

"You need to tell them now," she prodded. He nodded and sighed.

"Look, kids, I made a lot of mistakes in my life," David started, to which Kendall "psht" and rolled his eyes to. David ignored the remark and continued while Mrs. Knight gave the boy a warning glance. "But the biggest mistake I ever made was walking out my own front door. Kendall, you relied on me and I am so sorry I let you down. I was stupid and irresponsible but it's been over 10 years and I'm ready to make amends. I'm ready to support this family and watch you grow up. That includes James, Carlos and Logan. I will treat you and love you like my own sons." Kendall's stomach clenched at this, because he was the only one who knew how he really treated his own son.

"What are you saying?' Kendall asked. Mr. Knight was acting as if he was coming back into their life for good, as if he was actually going to try to redeem his role as father. It was way too late for that, though.

"I'm saying I have a good job and I'm a different person now. I want to be a part of your life, Kendall. Your mother has agreed to let me stay here, just until I get a place of my own. My job transferred me here to LA. I'm an architect, Kendall. You're old man made something of himself, finally."

Kendall crossed his arms and stared at the floor. He was angry, just cold-blooded angry. How could his father ever expect to come back into his life after what he did to him? How could his mom ever allow him to stay in the same apartment? She didn't know the man David truly was, but she still knew that he left a 6 year old alone for an entire night after walking out on his family.

"No," Kendall said, standing up and facing his father so he could glare into his green eyes. He was nearly shaking he was so upset. "I won't let you live here, in the same apartment as my little sister and mother. I don't want you here."

"Kendall!" Mrs. Knight scolded, standing next to her son, but she softened her voice when she saw how upset Kendall looked. "Honey calm down."

"It's ok, Jenny," David said, putting his hand up.

"No it's not ok!" Kendall cried, voice raising an octave. "Mom, you can't seriously let him stay here!"

"Kendall, I know what I did was wrong," David said. "But I'm willing to make up for it. What happened was a very long time ago. I just needed time to get back on my feet. I grew up a lot in these 10 years, and I want to show you that."

Kendall continued to glare at his atrocious excuse for a father for a minute, then took Katie's hand and Carlos' wrist and hauled them off of the couch.

"Gustavo demands us back at the studio. Katie, you're coming with." Kendall glanced at James, and the tall brunette grabbed a confused Logan and pulled him out the door behind Kendall. Mrs. Knight just let them go, knowing Kendall needed time, and lots of it.

"Whew, it was getting intense in there," Logan said as they walked down the sidewalk to Rocque Records. Kendall stomped down the concrete, seething. How dare his father think it was perfectly dandy to just waltz right back into their life, when everything was just fine the way it was.

"Hey, Kendall, you ok?" James asked, catching up to his friend's quick pace and falling in beside him. Kendall always walked quickly when he was upset.

"I'm fine," Kendall said through gritted teeth, though it was so obvious that he wasn't.

"Just tell us what you're thinking," James said. "Let us in for once."

"There's nothing to tell. I hate my father and I want him gone, end of story. He ruined our lives, guys. He ruined Katie's life before she was even born. I could never respect that."

"Hey, I was unborn, I didn't know what was going on," Katie said, trying to stay light hearted about all this. She could tell her brother was freaking out and she didn't like that. Kendall rarely acted like this.

"I don't want to talk about this," Kendall said. "I want to go the studio and record our song and forget this ever happened, and maybe when I come home mom will come to her senses and dad will have left."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple," Katie said. Kendall slowed down his pace and threw an arm around his little sister's shoulders. He knew that even if she acted like she didn't care, she really did. He knew she was not ok with this.

"He'll leave," Kendall said, regaining his confidence. He was not a little boy anymore. He was the man of the house now, and David was not going to take that away from him. "I'll make sure of it."

They arrived at Rocque Records, where Gustavo was waiting for them impatiently. "Dogs! What took you so… Long?" Gustavo's voice trailed off when Kendall didn't even acknowledge the large man sitting at the sound board, he just stomped into the recording booth and slapped on his headphones.

"Is he ok?" Kelly asked Carlos.

"Long story," Carlos said. He knew Kendall probably wouldn't want everyone to know what was going on quite yet.

The boys worked on the song for another couple of hours, when Gustavo dismissed them. Kendall was acting strangely and the other boys were distracted and they weren't really getting any work done. Not only that, but Katie kept asking him what every single button did and kept trying to mess with the knobs and switches.

"Dogs, you're done for the day. Go home and get some rest so we can actually finish the song tomorrow," Gustavo said.

"I don't want to go home," Kendall scowled on the way out of the building. 'I don't want to see him."

"Cheer up big brother, he left once and he'll probably leave again," Katie said optimistically. "I'm not too thrilled he's here either."

Carlos rubbed Kendall's back sympathetically. He couldn't imagine what his older friend was feeling right now. Carlos loved his daddy. His daddy never left him. He was always there for him with lots of hugs and new helmets. He had no idea what it would be like if his dad left him. He would probably break down and cry.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Carlos said. "Your dad seemed kind of nice, and your mom seemed ok with it. Mothers always know best right?"

"Not when they don't know everything," Kendall muttered.

"Say what?" Carlos asked.

"Nothing," Kendall said. They walked the rest of the way to the apartment in silence. The boys were worried for Kendall, and Katie's mind was racing. She wasn't sure what to think right now. She had always wanted to meet her dad but Kendall was deeply upset over his sudden reappearance, while his mom was acting like her ex-husband showing up was the most normal thing in the world.

"Oh good, you boys are home," Mrs. Knight said when the kids walked through the front door. The apartment smelled pleasantly of pork roast and crescent rolls, and it almost brought a smile to Kendall's face, but he was disappointed to see David in the kitchen with her, setting a salad bowl on the table. Kendall didn't greet either of his parents. He just flopped onto the couch and turned the sports channel on.

"Hey, it is dinner time, not TV time," Mrs. Knight said sternly, grabbing the remote from his hand and shutting the television off. Kendall rarely acted so rude and disrespectful, so she decided to let it go this time. She understood that this was a lot for her son to take in. "Go join everyone at the table."

"I'm not hungry mom," Kendall said, hoping he could get out of having to eat with his dad.

"Honey, please don't make this difficult on us," Mrs. Knight pleaded. "You were 6 years old, ok? It's been 11 years. I think you are mature enough to have dinner with your own father."

Kendall stared at his mother incredulously. "Mom, you have got to be kidding me! Just because I was 6 doesn't mean it didn't affect me, it doesn't mean I don't remember! All it means is that I had to step up and be the man of the house. I had to be a brother and a father to Katie. As soon as I turned 13, I had to get a job so I could help you pay bills because _he _refused to pay child support!" Kendall hissed acidly, pointing at his father, who sat at the table looking quite guilty. His friends and Katie watched Kendall's tantrum in surprise, feeling weird to be caught in the middle of it.

"Kendall, I'm really sorry about everything," Mr. Knight said from across the room. "But if it's ok, I would really like to have dinner with my son. It's been too long."

"Unbelievable," Kendall muttered.

"Sit down, now Kendall," Mrs. Knight said in a warning voice. "We will talk about this tonight. But right now, we are going to have a mature, civilized dinner."

Kendall huffed and pushed past his mother. He scooched back a chair and slammed his body into it, letting everyone know he was not happy about this. Everyone watched Kendall with pity but he ignored them, so they started piling food onto their plates. Mrs. Knight tried to make small talk but since Kendall refused to speak, so did the other boys.

"Kendall, why aren't you eating buddy?" David asked. That was it for Kendall. He was not his dad's "buddy." The blonde threw down his napkin and got to his feet.

"May I be excused?" He asked loudly before turning on his heel and walking out of the apartment, not even waiting to hear his mother's answer.

"That's ok, it's to be expected," Mr. Knight said. "I don't blame him for being mad at me. I left on bad terms. I understand that I have to earn his respect back."

James got up suddenly, gave Mr. Knight a look of disdain, and followed Kendall out of the apartment. He hated this guy already. He was such a fake, like everything that spewed out of his mouth was a lie. James knew right away that he did not deserve Kendall's respect.

James found Kendall in the parking lot, shooting a hockey puck between cars, a concentrated scowl across his features. He grabbed the hockey stick he always left in the same place every day and joined in on the hockey game. Kendall, who thought he was alone, was startled when someone shot the puck in his direction. He looked up to see James giving him a small smile.

"Hey," Kendall said.

"Hey," James said. "I don't like him, Kendall. Not one bit."

Kendall brought his hockey stick back and hit the puck with all of his strength. The puck bounced off of some poor souls fancy Sedan, leaving a nice dent on the passenger side door, and landed on the asphalt loudly. James laughed and retrieved the puck. Luckily, it was dark out and nobody was around to catch what Kendall did.

"Nice one," James said. "How about we grab our skates and play some one on one? Loser buys us smoothies."

"It's on," Kendall said. They went to the car and got their skates. Kendall nudged James gently in a thankful gesture. This is what he loved most about James. Logan's pep talks were amazing, but sometimes he didn't want to talk and James always understood that. He didn't need to talk anything through with James, the taller boy just always _knew._ It was like they were both on the same wave length. Kendall considered all the boys his brothers but if any one of them was like a twin to him, it was James.

The two boys played a quiet, not-very-competitive game of roller hockey together, laughing at the occasional joke one of them cracked. It was fun and relaxing, and they were sad when they realized a few hours quickly passed by and it was 11 0 'clock, which was their curfew on the weekdays.

"Ready to go back in?" James asked. Kendall scoffed.

"No," he answered, throwing his hockey stick aside. They removed their skates and carried their stuff up to the apartment. Carlos was asleep on the couch with a half-eaten corndog hanging out of his mouth, Logan was curled up next to him doing his homework, and Kendall's parents were seated at the kitchen table having a quiet, intent conversation. Kendall walked right past them without sparing a glance, straight to his bedroom. Thankfully, everybody left him alone, which was what he wanted. He didn't want to be bothered and he certainly didn't want to talk about anything. When Logan came in about an hour later, he pretended to be asleep. Logan said his name a couple times, trying to get his attention, but gave up and went to sleep. Kendall couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. How could he sleep with his father in the same apartment as Katie? The guys, they could take care of themselves and handle it if something happened but Katie was just an innocent little girl, and he didn't trust his dad, not in the least bit. He kept his ears open all night for any kind of noise, but all he could hear were the soft, barely-audible voices of his parents discussing things. Finally, the talking stopped at about 3 am and Mrs. Knight came into Kendall's room.

"You sleeping, baby?" She asked, sitting next to him on the bed.

"No," Kendall said with a pout. He gave a huge yawn, and Mrs. Knight stroked his hair in a soothing manner.

"I know this must be scary for you Kendall, but your dad has been through a lot and he's offered to pay all of the child support he owes us if we allow him back into our lives. I don't have the time to take him to court about it, so it wouldn't hurt if we let him stay here a while. I need the help, honey. It's hard being a single mother to 5 kids. I could barely afford to raise 2 of you back in Minnesota. Your father wants to be your father again. He'll help out with the bills. I need that."

"So that's what this is all about, money?" Kendall asked. His mother always told him that money didn't mean a thing in life. She never stressed out over bills before. Or maybe Kendall was too naïve and young to notice before now. "You're just going to let him back into our life randomly one day because he offered his money?"

"Actually, your father came into contact with me over 2 weeks ago. I wasn't too thrilled about the idea, either. But he proved himself to me, Kendall. He showed me his AA papers, showing he's been sober for 6 years straight. That's why I divorced him you know, because of his drinking problem. That was the only reason. Now that he's sober again, I'm willing to give him another chance."

Kendall's eyes went wide and his heart sunk when he realized something. "Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"D-do you still… Love him?" Kendall asked, afraid of the answer. She patted his cheek and nodded.

"I never stopped loving him. I never thought I would forgive him when he left that day, but now that he's back… I don't want to lose him, baby. Are you ok?" Mrs. Knight asked when Kendall flipped onto his side in an attempt to hide his tears. He hadn't let her see him cry in years. She sighed when he didn't answer her. "Just give it a chance, honey. He's your dad. People make mistakes, and he's making up for his."

"When's he leaving?" Kendall asked, voice muffled by his pillow.

"Well, I was hoping he could stay for a while. Maybe permanently."

Kendall gripped his pillow angrily. He wanted to argue with his mother, but he was afraid he would end up screaming at her. She rubbed his back gently.

"If it doesn't work out, I'll make sure he gets a place of his own. I still love him, but you're my son Kendall. You will always be number 1. Get some rest, you're overwhelmed. Good night, baby."

Kendall didn't answer. If he spoke, his mom would be able to hear the tears in his voice. She patted his hair and left his bedroom. Logan was snoring on the other side of the room, and Kendall took the opportunity to let his tears flood his pillow and silent sobs wrack his body. His dad was back, and there was nothing he could do about it.

**A/N Sorry if this was kind of boring, but I needed to explain some stuff! And remember, only Kendall knows Mr. Knight's true colors. Please review and next chappie will be up shortly! Does anybody like angst? Because there will be lots of it in this story! Yeehaw!**


	3. In the night

**A/N Ok here's chappie 3! Things are going to start slowly kicking in! I like to get the show on the road early!**

Kendall sat stiffly in the passenger seat of his father's pick-up truck, nervously glancing over at the gruff, green-eyed man sitting next to him every few minutes. It was the evening after the day his father showed up, and his mother had suggested that the 2 of them spend a few hours together, "Catching up". David was all for the idea, while Kendall was completely opposed. But his mother had practically begged him to do it for her, so here he was, alone with his father, a predicament he prayed he would never be in again.

"So are you still playing hockey?" David asked. "Does LA even have an ice rink?"

"Sometimes," Kendall replied, staring out of the window at the passing imagery of ocean and palm trees. They were on a curvy, unpopulated road leading to a nice beach. "And yes."

David sighed at how short Kendall was being with him. "I remember the day I signed you up for peewee hockey. You were so excited. I bought you this tiny little hockey stick… Oh boy, you were shorter than all the 5 year olds. Just a tiny thing," the man said in a reminiscent voice. "But every time the big boys knocked you down, you would get right back up, brush the ice off of you, and make that goal. The very first day I put you on the ice, you said you wanted to play pro with the Minnesota Wilds. Do you remember that?"

"No," Kendall said coldly, even though he did remember. It was a happier time, just before the divorce. Back when his father was a hero to him.

"I remember it like just yesterday. I can still hear that squeaky little voice of yours." David looked over at Kendall for a moment and noticed he wasn't properly secured. "Kendall, I thought I told you to wear your seatbelt, buddy."

"Since when do you care about my wellbeing?" Kendall scoffed.

"I have always cared about your wellbeing. You're my son, and I love you."

Kendall glared at David. There was no truth behind those words. His stomach churned when he said Kendall was his son. "I'm not your son, _David._ I refuse to be labeled the son of such a… A cowardly bastard. You left us, when we needed you most."

David gripped the steering wheel tightly. "First of all, my name is not David to you. I am your father, whether you like it or not. And don't ever use such language with me. Don't you think I regret leaving you when I did, Kendall?"

"I don't know. I don't regret it, I'm glad you left when you did. I only wish you left earlier," Kendall spat. He gasped when suddenly David threw on his brakes, sending Kendall flying forward to the dashboard. Pain shot through his face when it collided with plastic and rubber(1), and he rebounded off of the dash and back against his seat. He panicked when he saw a small pool of blood on the dashboard. He quickly put his hand to his nose, but amazingly, he got away without a nose bleed. His lip was what was bleeding, having bit it on impact.

"Look what you did!" David exclaimed, pulling over to the side of the road. He grabbed some tissues from the glove compartment and pressed them to Kendall's bloodied lip. Kendall flinched away and snatched the tissues so he could do it himself. "If you were just wearing your seatbelt, Kendall…"

Kendall stared at David incredulously. "You did it on purpose!"

"Oh yeah, I wanted you to bleed all over my interior! I saw a damn animal in the road."

"There was nothing in the road," Kendall said angrily. He rolled down his window so he could spit out some blood. He couldn't stand to swallow the tangy, metallic taste. "You just wanted to shut me up. What, now you're too coward to use your own fists?"

David threw his truck into drive and peeled into a U-turn. "Fine, we will go home if you want to be this difficult."

Kendall crossed his arms and stared sullenly out the window. He was perfectly fine with going home.

They arrived home 15 minutes later. Mrs. Knight grinned when she saw her beloved son walk in, but it quickly faded when she saw the scowl he wore.

"Hey Kendall, you're back… Early…" Mrs. Knight said, voice trailing off when Kendall stormed into his room and slammed his door, making Mrs. Knight and Katie jump.

"What happened" Mrs. Knight asked. David shrugged.

"He's just being a teenager," David said, annoyed. Katie raised her small eyebrows curiously. Kendall never acted like a _"teenager," _he was always way too mature for his age. She followed him into his room and sat beside her older brother, who lay sprawled out on his bed, face in his pillow.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," Kendall mumbled. "Where are the guys?"

"They went out for pizza. So what just happened? Spill."

"Dad is a douche, that's all," Kendall said.

"Yeah, I sorta get that vibe," Katie said. "Do you find it fishy that he suddenly wants back in after being gone for so many years?"

"Yeah well, he's dad and he's an idiot so what do you expect," Kendall said, rolling onto his back.

"Whoa! What's up with your lip?" Katie asked, reaching out and placing her fingertips on the cut.

"I bit it," Kendall said simply. He wasn't about to go into detail with Katie about what happened in the short time he was with his dad.

"Did you guys get in a fight?" Katie wondered.

"Just exchanged some ugly words, nothing more than that," Kendall said dully. "He thinks he can just waltz back in here and woo mom over again, but I'm not going to just let him back in that easy. He's going to earn his spot back in this family."

"Mom said dad is going to take me shopping tomorrow," Katie said after a couple minutes of silence. "Kendall?"

"Mmm?" Kendall mumbled. He was in the midst of dozing off to sleep, comforted by his pillow and Katie's presence.

"I don't want to go Kendall," Katie said, trying her best not to sound vulnerable. But her big brother, who she spent her whole life trusting blindly, seemed wary and almost fearful of this man, and she sure as hell wasn't going to trust some guy who claimed to be her father no matter how much her mother pleaded her to. To Katie, Kendall was the closest thing to a father she would ever have.

Kendall sat up in his bed and peered into his baby sister's eyes. She seemed very uneasy with the idea of spending time with this man and he didn't like it too much, either. "Don't worry, baby sis," he said, rubbing her arm. "I'll come with you guys, ok?"

Katie nodded. "Thanks Kendall. Good night big brother." She leaned over so she could kiss his forehead and left for her own bedroom. Kendall changed into his pajamas and lied down, even though it was still early. He didn't even hear Logan come in for bed, but he was awoken several hours later by a small hand shaking his shoulder.

"Kendall?" Katie asked in a small whisper, careful not to wake Logan up.

"Huh? Katie, what is it?" Kendall asked, rolling over and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked up to see his little sister standing over him in the darkness. She looked like a frightened little girl, eyes wide and arms folded over her chest.

"I'm scared," she mumbled, feeling incredibly stupid. She hadn't had to wake up Kendall in the middle of the night for comfort in years.

"Scared? Of what, baby sister?" Kendall asked, confused and worried. Katie sat next to him and shrugged.

"It's weird, sleeping with him in the apartment," Katie said. "I think it gave me a nightmare."

"A nightmare? What was it about?" Kendall asked, brushing her bangs from her face.

"It was weird, Kendall. I felt like someone was in my room. Like a man. Like… Dad."

"He was in your room?" Kendall growled, anger churning inside his gut, but she shook her head wildly.

"N-no," Katie said, but she sounded a bit unsure. "It was just a dream."

Kendall sighed. "Ok. Would it make you feel better if you slept in here tonight?"

"You mean would it make _you_ feel better if I stay with you tonight?" Katie joked, and Kendall smiled sheepishly.

"Come on, let's get you some water, your throat sounds dry," Kendall said. He led her out to the kitchen, turned on the nightlight above the sink, and filled up a glass with water for Katie.

"Everything ok in here?" A deep voice asked. Kendall looked up and narrowed his eyes at David, who entered the kitchen, feigning worry for the daughter he didn't even know.

"We're fine," Kendall said crossly, turning his attention back to his little sister, who was finishing her water.

"Are you ok, KatieBug?" David asked. Kendall felt like a lightning bolt struck his stomach at the nickname he used for her. Before Katie was born, but after Kendall convinced his mother not to name her Apple, he had affectionately given her the nickname of "KatieBug," and his father had followed suit.

"She's fine," Kendall said again through clenched teeth, but David ignored him and walked up to Katie, putting a beefy hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked at Kendall for help, but before Kendall could say anything, David had scooped the tiny girl up from under her arms as if she was a 3 year old.

"Come on, daddy will put you to bed," David cooed, but Katie squirmed, trying to release herself from the uncomfortable grasp.

"No, put me down," she said stubbornly, and Kendall's heart raced when he saw David holding his baby sister, trying to carry off. David didn't deserve to hold her. He didn't even hold her when she was born, like every father was supposed to. And it was clear Katie wanted to get down.

"David, put her down," Kendall warned, hoping not to cause such a ruckus that the rest of his family woke up.

"Kendall," Katie whined, and her older brother pulled her away from the man she never met and held her to his chest protectively.

"You don't deserve to carry my sister," Kendall said angrily to David. "I can put her to bed myself." Without another word, Kendall turned on his heel, walked briskly to his room, and locked the door.

"Are you ok, baby sister?" Kendall asked. Katie nodded, blushing bright pink. He set her on his bed and touched her cheek. 'What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I freaked like that. I just don't know him and it's weird. He's acting like he's known me for my whole life but he hasn't, Kendall." Katie's lower lip trembled. Out of everyone in her life, Kendall was the one person she knew she didn't have to be strong for.

Kendall leaned forward and wrapped her in a warm hug. "I know, Katie. It's ok. I'll be right here, ok? If you don't want him to touch you, he's not going to touch you. I'm not going to let him. Come here, lie down. Get some sleep." Kendall tucked his younger sister in and watched her sleep for a few minutes, thinking about how unfair this was to her. Everything was perfect in the little girl's life, Kendall always made sure of it, and here David was, trying to screw it all up.

But he wasn't going to let him.

**A/N Ok, who loves Kendall/Katie bro/sis fluff? Because I have **_**a lot**_** of it stored up for this story. Thanks so much for the alerts, the reviews, and for reading! You guys are amazing! Who knew Katie's façade wouldn't last? And who thinks David was creeping around in her room, and why? I love feedback!**

**What is a dashboard made out of? Rubber and plastic? I dunno. **

**Reviews are the powdered sugar on my French toast. **


	4. fear inside of me

**A/N Thanks so much for all the reviews! Every review I get I take to heart and each one inspires me so much! I love you guys! Now let's hate David a little more, shall we?**

"Hey, Kendall, wake up dude," Logan said, shaking his blonde friend awake. Kendall groaned and smacked his lips, sleepy from the broken rest he received last night. After the whole nightmare situation, it was very hard for him to fall asleep. All he could think about was his father all night. Even Katie was being affected by that hideous excuse for a father, and when Katie was involved, Kendall was not a happy big brother.

"What's up? Kendall asked, sitting up carefully as to not wake his sister next to him.

"Is Katie ok? Why is she in here?"

"Oh, she had a nightmare last night. I guess she's pretty freaked out by David."

"Yeah, well I would be too. I hate having him here, Kendall. I mean, I understand your mom needs the support, anyone can see she's been struggling with money and raising 5 kids but it's hard to sleep with him here. I don't even know him. He's just some strange guy living in the guest room and he just gives off this… Aura of, I don't even know how to explain. It just feels not right," Logan admitted. Kendall nodded.

"I know, dude. And I'm working on it. I'll get him out of here, ok? If I had it my way, he wouldn't stay here another night. But it might take me longer than that. The way I see it, mom left him once, she'll leave him again. My mom isn't stupid. She'll come to her senses soon."

Suddenly, there was a knock on their door, startling the boys.

"Kendall, you awake?" David's gruff voice called out.

"Speak of the dick face," Kendall mumbled under his breath. Logan laughed and shoved his friend playfully on the shoulder. "Be right out, _dad,"_ Kendall called back, putting as much emphasis he could on the word dad so he could sound like a smart ass. Logan snorted.

"I better get Katie up. Daddy dearest is taking us out for shopping and bonding time!" Kendall said with false joy.

"Oh, have fun with that. Hey, Kendall?"

"Yeah?" Kendall asked, grabbing some clothes from his dresser.

Logan sighed. "Just, you know that you can come to me or any of the guys if you need to talk, right? I know you are kind of taking this hard, which I completely understand. But don't ever feel like you're alone in this, ok? James, Carlos and I, we got your back buddy, no matter what. We're lookin' out for you and Katie and even your mom. If we see anything suspicious, we'll kick the mother fucker straight back to whatever hell hole he came from."

Kendall looked at his little buddy, taken aback. Logan wore a serious look on his face, biceps flexed and everything. He meant business. Kendall broke out into a huge grin and went over to Logan so he could plant a huge kiss on his forehead. "Thanks, Logie. But watch your mouth next time," Kendall added sternly. Logan's tough act didn't last long, and it was amazing how quickly he looked so tiny again, with red cheeks and a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I got carried away," Logan said, voice not as strong as before. "I think that was the first time I have ever said the eff word!"

Kendall just laughed and threw a pair of jeans and a red shirt on. "Big surprise. Wake up the shortie for me, will you?" Kendall nodded to his baby sister and headed to the kitchen. His mom was busy cooking up pancakes and cutting up apples.

"Ooh, looks good!" Kendall said, greeting his mom with a kiss to her cheek. He went to grab a pancake but was met with a slap to the hand.

"Ah-ah, your dad is taking you and your sister out for breakfast, honey. He's waiting in the car," Mrs. Knight said. Kendall groaned.

"But I want your breakfast, mom," he whined. She smiled at her son.

"Honey, I really think that if you just spent some time with your father without trying to pick a fight you guys will get along just fine. He's your father and he loves you, baby. He told me you were being difficult last night. This time, just try to relax and have fun."

Kendall scowled at the floor. Every word his mother spoke sent jolts of anger through his bloodstream. "I don't like him, mom," he said with clenched teeth. "And he doesn't love me. No amount of bonding time we spend together will change that. It doesn't make up for the fact that he left us when we needed him most."

Mrs. Knight sighed and patted her son's face. "Honey, he came back. He's trying to right his wrongs. That's more than some fathers can say. Everyone makes mistakes. But he realized that and is trying his hardest to fix it. He got himself help and found a good job. He wasn't ready to be a dad but now he is more than ready."

"17 years too late, mom," Kendall said acidly.

"You always have been too stubborn for your own good. I just don't want this to be hard on you. I want you to be able to have a real relationship with your dad. It's never too late to make things right, you know."

"Yeah, sure mom," he said, barely paying attention to her words anymore. Katie bounded into the kitchen dressed in a brown plaid shirt and blue skinny jeans.

"Hey mom," she said, giving her mother a squeeze. "See ya later!"

"Bye sweetie. Bye Kendall. Maybe you can take some attitude lessons from your sister," Mrs. Knight said. Kendall ignored his mom and linked arms with Katie so he could lead her out of the apartment.

"Why are you so happy?" Kendall asked.

"Well, I was thinking, we get a free shopping spree today. Even if we hate dad, I do not hate the mall."

Kendall laughed, amused by his sisters optimism, but it quickly turned into a bitter chuckle. "I don't want his money. All I wanted was from him to be a dad when I was little. He can't make up for that through money, you know?"

Katie nudged Kendall in the ribs. She hated seeing sadness cloud his green eyes. "Hey, cheer up, big brother. We could always ditch him in the food court."

Kendall laughed. He could always count on Katie to cheer him. They were in the lobby now, and Kendall stopped Katie and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, are you ok after last night?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Katie said softly. "It was just a nightmare. I guess it just wigged me out since I haven't had one in a while."

Kendall squeezed Katie's shoulders warmly. "And you're sure it was just a nightmare, right?" Kendall asked, and he was concerned when Katie still seemed unsure.

"Yeah, nightmare, what else would it be, right?" Katie said. Kendall nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." Kendall led Katie to David's sport car and guided her to the backseat, where he buckled her in, than went to the other side and sat in the back with her. The further from David he was, the better. His blood was cleaned up off the dash from last night but it still unnerved him to be up there.

They rode to a diner for breakfast in silence. Kendall only talked to Katie, and he was proud of her whenever David would try to talk to her and she would just give him a short answer. As planned, the 2 scheming children ditched David at the mall, claiming they had got lost and forgotten their cellphones, and finally, they arrived back to the apartment. Katie went off with Buddha Bob to hang out and Kendall met his buddies down at the pool.

"Hey, how did today go?" James asked as soon as Kendall sat in a lounge chair next to him, seemingly relieved that Kendall looked fine. Carlos and Logan hopped out of the pool when they saw their friend and surrounded him, dripping pool water all over his clothes.

"Guys, quit crowding me," Kendall said with a laugh, pushing his 2 smaller friends away and wiping water off of his jeans. "It was fine. Katie and I ditched David at the mall and we just hung out for a while. He seemed annoyed but I don't care. I don't want him thinking that I actually want to spend time with him. But right now, I just want to hang out with my guys and forget that he's anywhere near us." Kendall smiled and settled back against his chair, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. There was something about being near his friends that relaxed him.

It was nighttime again at the Palmwoods. Kendall lay fully awake, listening to the quiet sounds of the apartment. Logan was snoring softly and sniffling against his pillow. Every once in a while he would hear the raspy shuffle of blankets as Logan shifted in his sleep. Their ipod speakers were on low as they could go, and Kendall could just barely make out Incubus' "Adolescence" playing. Usually, those 2 comforting sounds alone could lull him to sleep, but Kendall just couldn't drift off tonight. Something was keeping him awake.

Maybe it was just the thought that his idiot of a father was sleeping in their guest bedroom, as if this apartment was his home. He hated the fact that David was allowed to stay here when he hadn't even earned it. Kendall was never mad at his mom before, but he was pretty sure he was angry at her now for the first time. She was too nice, too trusting. Maybe it was time he told her the truth, the secret he kept from her in fear of their lives. He wanted her to know the kind of person Mr. Knight really was. He was feeling this way since David first arrived. It was time he told her what really happened the night David left.

Over the music and Logan snoring, Kendall could hear voices murmuring about something. He recognized Katie's voice instantly, and it sounded upset, kind of like she was… Struggling. It was followed by a coughing noise, but just as soon as the voices started, it was silent again. He listened for a minute more, but the voices had ceased completely, as well as the choking noise. Something was definitely not right. Kendall shoved his blankets off of his bed and crept across the cold wood floor to the hallway. Katie's door was half open, which was odd, because Katie always slept with the door closed. Fear swirled in the pit of Kendall's stomach, and he tip-toed into his baby sister's room.

Everything seemed normal. It was dark and quiet, the only light being the glow-in-the-dark colored stars on her ceiling. She slept peacefully under the fleece blanket he bought for her so many years ago, but she looked really pale. Concerned, Kendall approached the little girl and placed a hand on her forehead. She felt a bit cold against his palm, but she seemed to be sleeping just fine. With a shrug, Kendall was about to leave, but then he noticed something around the top of her blanket. Kendall touched the blanket and brought his hand back to his chest quickly when his fingers brushed something warm and wet. It was obvious what the liquid was right away. Kendall started trembling and brought the blanket back to her chest and screamed. His entire world came crashing down at the image in front of him.

Katie was dead, she had to be. A huge gash was slit against her throat, fresh blood seeping through the flesh.

"Mommy!" Kendall screamed in terror, turning to run to make sure his mom was safe, but he collided into something solid. He looked up to see green eyes staring at him, almost glowing in the moonlight. There was something twisted in his eyes that made Kendall sick to his stomach.

Kendall screamed and backed up slowly. He felt like he was falling for a second, and he landed on the floor with a bone-jarring thud. His father stood above him, pulling out a silver knife stained with his little sister's blood. His father made the motion to stab him but instead of feeling pain, Kendall felt…

Wet?

His body was splashed with cool liquid and suddenly he wasn't in his sister's bedroom anymore. Instead, he was on the concrete next to the Palmwoods pool. Carlos splashed water from the pool against his skin while his best friends and what looked like nearly half of the kids that resided there watched him fearfully.

Kendall immediately started sobbing, not exactly sure what just happened. Logan widened his eyes in shock and looked at James, who nodded his head and pulled Kendall to his feet, half dragging and half carrying the traumatized boy to the lobby and into the elevator, where Logan pressed the button that made the elevator stay still with the doors closed.

"Katie!" Kendall cried. "Is she ok?"

"Calm down, Katie is fine," Logan said as James sat the blonde on the floor, leaning him against the side of the elevator. "I think you had a really bad dream, dude. You scared us to death. You just started screaming and thrashing and you wouldn't wake up, even when you fell right off your chair."

Kendall wiped the tears and sweat off of his face with a shaky hand. "I fell?" He asked. That would explain why he felt like he was falling in his dream and why it hurt when he hit the ground. He groaned in embarrassment, realizing he caused a huge scene by the pool. He would be the laughing stock for years for this one.

"I'm so sorry guys," he said, finally calming down a bit. His chest still felt heavy and the burning feeling of horror was still in his stomach, but his heart wasn't racing quite as fast.

"Don't be sorry, you're going through a lot right now," Logan said. "Are you ok? Do you need me to get your mom?"

"Mom? No, I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you look like you're gonna puke and you called out 'mommy' in your sleep," Carlos said bluntly. Logan and James punched Carlos' arms and yelled his name before turning back to Kendall.

"I called for mommy?" Kendall asked in disbelief, hiding his burning cheeks in his hands.

"Relax, it's only natural for a young man to unconsciously resort to calling out the name of the woman who nurtured him and raised him his whole life when his brain is paralyzed by terror," Logan said.

"That doesn't make me feel better," Kendall groaned. "And I'm not going to puke, Carlos."

"Are you sure you're ok though?" Carlos asked, genuinely concerned. While Logan was witness to a few of Kendall's nightmares, Carlos was under the impression that Kendall never suffered from the psychological torture before. The Latino was used to Kendall comforting him after a nightmare, not the other way around.

"I'll be ok when David leaves for good," Kendall said.

"It was just dream buddy," James said. "I know whatever happened in it must have been terrible but I won't let it happen in real life, ok? You're safe with us."

Kendall nodded and tried to give James a weak smile. He was having trouble convincing himself that Katie was fine because he couldn't get the sickening image of her blood out of his mind. He wouldn't know what to do if Katie got hurt like that.

They boys sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Carlos rubbed Kendall's back absent mindedly and Logan listened to his older friend's breathing for a while, making sure he wasn't hyperventilating himself.

"I'm going to talk to mom tonight, about kicking David out. He needs to find a new apartment. I don't want him here, I don't feel safe guys," Kendall said.

"We'll do it with you if you need us," Logan offered. Kendall smiled and got up from the floor, pulling Carlos up with him.

"I think I need to do this on my own," Kendall said, reaching out his hands to pull Logan and James to their feet and pressed the 2 button on the elevator. "Thanks though." He put his arm around Logan's skinny shoulders and they went to the apartment that just lacked the same homely feeling it usually had now that David was there.

"Hey mom! I need to talk to you!" Kendall called, ignoring David, who was on the couch. He went to his mother's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" She called, and Kendall entered her small bedroom. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her. She looked beautiful. If this was what people meant when they said a woman was glowing, than she was definitely glowing right now. She looked positively happy, dressed in a long and flowing midnight blue dress he didn't even know she owned. Her red hair curled around her face, which was done up with makeup and a huge smile.

"Mom, you look so pretty," Kendall breathed. He went over to her and hugged her tightly, taking the woman by surprise. She held her son close, treasuring his random act of affection.

"Sweetie, are you ok? Have you been crying?" Mrs. Knight asked, recognizing the red tint to his eyes immediately.

"I'm fine mom," Kendall said. "Why are you all dressed up"

"I've got a date tonight, baby."

"A date? You haven't dated in years though," Kendall said, slightly jealous when he realized his mother would be out all night instead of at the apartment with him.

"I know. But David, he's serious about this Kendall. He's taking me to the fanciest restaurant he could find, where we can eat over-looking the ocean. It's such a gorgeous restaurant."

Kendall sighed. His mother deserved to go to that restaurant. Just not with David. But she looked so excited and radiant, and he didn't want to be the spoiled brat who ruined that for her.

"What's wrong, baby?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Have a good time tonight. I'll hold down the fort here."

"I know you will. Make sure Carlos doesn't blow anything up." Mrs. Knight handed Kendall a pearl necklace. "Will you put this on for me?"

Kendall smiled, turned his mother around, and linked the necklace around her neck. "Didn't I get this for you for Christmas?"

Mrs. Knight smiled fondly and faced her son. "Yes, you did. You were 11. You spent all winter shoveling driveways all over town so you could surprise me with this. I remember we were walking through the mall and when I saw this in the jewelry case, you said, 'Mama, I'm going to get this for you. You deserve something pretty.'" Mrs. Knight touched Kendall's cheek. He remembered that clearly. He had been sad that his mommy didn't have a husband to buy her nice jewelry like the other mommies did. "Kendall, baby, you do know that no matter what happens, you are still the number one man in my life, right?"

Kendall nodded and covered his mom's hand with his, leaning into the comforting touch. "I know, mama."

"Ok. Oh, you said you wanted to tell me something?"

Kendall shook his head. "It can wait. I want you to go out and have a great time. We'll talk later."

"You promise you're fine?" Mrs. Knight pressed. She wanted to know why her 17 year old son had been in tears.

"Yes," he said, pushing her towards the door.

"Ok," she said with a laugh. "I left money for pizza. Make sure Katie is in bed by 10, and you boys don't stay up past 11. There's school tomorrow. We'll be home late so don't wait up for me." Mrs. Knight kissed Kendall's forehead and she and David were out the door.

"Did you tell her?" Carlos asked as soon as the door closed.

"Not yet, she looked so happy and I didn't want to upset her," Kendall said, falling onto the couch with a sigh. "She's acting like he's the greatest guy in the world!"

"Well, they were married. If I had 2 children with somebody, I would have a hard time getting over that person," Logan said. "The feelings would always be there, you know?"

"But they got a divorce for a reason!" Kendall said.

"And that's why adults are confusing, alien creatures," James said. "Now, can we play zombie mass destruction and just have fun?" He tossed a controller at Kendall's head. Kendall scowled, but took the controller and joined his buddies in saving humanity from the undead.

The rest of the night went quickly. Katie came home and they all ate pizza and wrestled until Logan made them do homework. They were all in bed on time, but Kendall lay awake, thinking of the vivid dream he had earlier. He wasn't sure he could handle another one.

At about one in the morning, Kendall could hear giggling and soft voices coming from the kitchen and he cringed, knowing it was David and his mother coming home from their date. He figured he might as well greet his mom while he was still awake, to be honest he kind of missed her while she was gone all evening.

Kendall padded out into the living room. The sight he was met with was absolutely horrific. His throat filled with bile and he closed his eyes, letting out an immature scream.

"Mom!" He whined. Mrs. Knight quickly jumped off the couch and straightened her dress to find her son burying his face in his hands, cheeks a deep shade of red.

"Oh, lord," she said, rolling her eyes while David smirked. "Kendall, honey, it was just kissing!"

"Gross, gross, gross!" Kendall exclaimed. Mrs. Knight laughed. It wasn't even like she and David were making out.

"Honey, old people kiss too. Now go to bed, it's one in the morning!" Mrs. Knight scolded. Kendall happily obliged, uncovering his eyes only just enough so he could see where he was running. He dived into bed and shivered.

A couple more hours passed and Kendall was getting restless. At 3 am, Katie was back in his room. This time, she just crawled right into Kendall's bed without a word.

"Another nightmare, Katie?" Kendall asked. Katie nodded under the blankets.

"I just felt like he was watching me, Kendall. I'm scared big brother."

"It's ok, you're safe with me," Kendall said, wrapping an arm around her tiny body. "He can't hurt you."

Katie sniffled and buried her nose into his side. Kendall rubbed her back until she was fast asleep. Tomorrow, he would have a nice, threatening talk with David. Tonight, he was just relieved to have his little sister safe in his arms.

**A/N Sorry about the dream thingy Kendall had. You guys ok? Please review! Next chap we will see how that talk Kendall is planning goes. I presume it won't be good.**


	5. 4 months

**A/N Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, makes me so happy and even more excited for this story than I already am! This is short, but very, very important. There's some legal stuff in here and I tried my hardest to find out everything (well, I asked my mom) but I have not a clue about anything to do with law stuff so if I failed epically, feel free to tell me and we can laugh at me together. I was going to post this later on, but I decided to try a different concept in which you the reader will kind of know what is going on and it's the characters who will be in the dark about everything. So yeah enjoy and let me know how I did because I have never written a chap like this before.**

4 months. He had 4 months. Time was running out. If he didn't start making the pieces fall into place, it would all be over for him. The blonde haired, green-eyed man stared at the calendar furiously, clenching and unclenching his beefy fists. When he had first found his miserable, good-for-nothing son on the news one morning, talking about his life as a quickly rising popstar, he knew immediately what he had to do.

But it was harder than he thought to make it happen. It took him nearly a year to "reinvent" himself as Mr. David Knight again, after claiming a different identity. For 4 years, he had been brown haired and blue eyed Charlie Patrick, husband to Phoebe Malone Patrick and step father to Lisa Patrick, 5, and Linda Patrick, 8.

Getting rid of them, however, was easier than one would think. The killing was the best part. Watching the lives of his innocent victim's just puff out like a billow of smoke was quite amusing. It was simple, so simple. A tweak here and a tweak there, and the 2 girls and the woman were found dead in their car from "Accidental Carbon Monoxide poisoning."

David laughed, remembering the fake look of horror on his face that he had spent weeks practicing in the mirror for when he found his dear, sweet family in the car. He always was a good actor. They all fell for it. Neighbors, co-workers, in-laws, they were all under the impression that he was traumatized by the horrific "accident." He spent months pretending he was broken beyond repair as a recluse inside of his house when really he was planning. He was always planning. He waited patiently for the generous checks from Melanie's job. Her pension, her social security, her life insurance, it was all his. And while he waited, he planned on just how he could come back as dear old dad to the Knight family. He sold their 300,000 dollar home and their family jeep and that's when he changed back to David Knight, the architect who completed his AA years ago, ready to come back into his son's life to make amends. It took months of forging papers and searching but he finally found the child he would have forgotten about if he didn't reach sudden fame. He would have ruined somebody else's life if Kendall had never become so famous. But he couldn't pass this up, it was just too good, and it would be so much fun. It was already so much fun. David Knight had gone through 3 identities in his life but his original proved to be the most thrilling.

Kendall would prove a challenge, he was a stubborn child. But it would make it all the more worth it, because he only had a short amount of time to be named on his trust fund. In 4 months Kendall would be 18, and legalities would change. The money would become Kendall's and not his parents. But while he was 17, 90% of the money he made through Big Time Rush would go straight to the trust fund that only his mother, Jenny Knight, was named on. But, if everything went as planned, David would be able to remarry her and he would be named on the fund too, and the money would be his.

There was just one little detail. Kendall Knight had to die before he turned 18. Of course, David was a greedy man, and he didn't want just Kendall's money. He wanted the whole bands earnings and since Jenny was the legal guardian of the 4 boys, all their money would go to the trust fund that he would soon be named on as well. He giggled as he thought of how he wanted to kill those ugly brats. Would he kill all 4 of them at the same time and make it quick? Or should he stretch their deaths out, killing them one by one as the others watched? Decisions, decisions.

But once they were taken care of, sharing the money wouldn't be very fun, and neither would be keeping the naïve and trusting Jenny alive. She would be easy prey, like a lion on an antelope. She was just begging to be eaten. And that would just leave Katie, little Katie, the daughter he never knew. She was a pretty little thing. He still wasn't sure what he would do with her. Killing her off wouldn't benefit him in anyway, so maybe he would keep her alive, do with her what he wanted until he could find a way to make money off of her. After all she was a budding actress and soon she would have a trust fund of her own. He would make sure of it.

David leaned back on the bed in his nice, dainty little guest room at the Palmwoods and chuckled, twirling the diamond ring he was preparing to give to Jenny soon-but not yet- in his fingers. This was going to be a fun little game.

**A/N So now you know that David is a psychotic criminal maniac who kills innocent people for their money. Who saw that one coming? Please review? **


	6. touching

**A/N Ahhh everyone thanks for your reviews and everyone who is reading this, makes me so incredibly happy! The language in this is kind of vulgar, soo yeah.**

"Psssssst! Logan!" Gustavo hissed, waving the nerdy boy over to him. Logan raised his eyebrows, looking fearful, and pointed to his chest while mouthing, "_Me?_" Gustavo groaned, rolled his eyes, and nodded. Out of any of the boys, the fat man knew he could get a straight answer out of Logan.

Logan glanced at his friends nervously. They were completely oblivious as they listened to Mr. X carefully instruct a dance move for them. He whimpered and ran towards Gustavo even though he really wished he had Kendall or James for back up.

"Um, yes Mr. Rocque?" Logan asked politely, voice rising at the end of his sentence with fear. He blushed and looked down at his dance sneakers. Gustavo wrinkled his nose and crooked an evil eyebrow.

"Ok, first off knock it off with the whole 'Oh Mr. Rocque, I'm so bashful' stuff," Gustavo said in a mocking, high-pitched tone, than lowered it to his usual baritone. "And second, what is up with K-Dawg?"

"Um, who?" Logan asked.

"Kendall! He's was acting all depressed early this afternoon and now he's acting all angry, like somebody rolled over his puppy."

"Oh, sorry Gustavo. I noticed he was distracted in school, too. He's kind of been going through a lot," Logan apologized for Kendall.

"Don't be sorry, it's great! I wish you all could be upset like this all the time! His voice projection is amazing, his dancing is emotional and full-out, and he hasn't screwed up all day. The angry look works well on him," Gustavo said. "But what exactly is wrong with him?"

Logan sighed. "Look, it's not really my place to say-"

"Tell me now!" Gustavo bellowed, lifting Logan up by his bony little shoulders. Logan gulped and laughed nervously.

"Ok, just please put me down!" Logan pleaded. Gustavo obliged, and Logan cowered against the wall before spilling the beans.

"It's his dad, he came back after 11 years," Logan said. "He's trying to be part of the family again but Kendall isn't having it. It's really affecting him. I have never seen him so upset before, Gustavo."

Gustavo narrowed his eyebrows and "Hmmmm'd" for a good few minutes, watching Kendall dance. His precision and timing was immaculate, but he could tell something was wrong with his most stubborn dog. He was quiet and submissive instead of loud and arguementive and his eyes had a tired, frightened look darkening his green irises. "Ok, thank you Logan, you are dismissed. Shoo. Rehearse for another hour with the boys and then you guys can go home so you can, you know, fix Kendall." Gustavo shoved Logan back into the studio, shaking his head. He _never_ let the boys go home so early, not unless one of them was sick. He admittedly over-worked the teenagers endlessly. But whoever was messing with Kendall was going to get a nice hefty serving of Gustavo Rocque's wrath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendall paced back and forth in his bedroom, rubbing his hands together absent-mindedly. Logan sighed dramatically. He had been watching his taller friend pace for nearly 2 hours now and it was starting to make him nauseous.

"Kendall, will you just sit down and do your homework?" Logan asked, annoyed.

"Hmm? Yeah," Kendall said distractedly, obviously having not heard a word Logan said. If anything, his pacing only got faster. Logan rolled his desk chair that he sat on in front of Kendall to halt his movements. The blonde stumbled and fell across Logan's lap with an "oof!"

"Get off me," Logan mumbled, rolling Kendall off of his lap. "Why are you acting all fidgety, dude?"

Kendall sat up and looked at Logan crossly, not happy at the younger boy's decision to push him onto the floor. "I'm waiting for David to get back from work so I can tell him to get the fudge out of my life." He was planning on confronting David about watching Katie at night, but he was working late. It was already 9 0' clock.

Logan laughed. "I hate to break it to you buddy but it's going to take a little bit more than that. It's your parent's decision, not yours, no matter how much we both hate it."

"But I want him out of here! We don't have enough room for him, anyway! This apartment is tiny and we have 7 people living here. Isn't that kind of ridiculous? I'm just trying to be practical here," Kendall said. Logan smiled sadly.

"Yeah, it is ridiculous, the whole situation is ridiculous but do you really think you can convince David to leave, just because Katie is having nightmares?"

"I don't think they are just nightmares, Logie. I know she's lying to me when she tells me it was just a dream. And I don't know if she's just in denial or if David is forcing her to lie but I know something is up."

Logan eyebrows seemed to rise up to his hairline. "That's a pretty strong accusation, Kendall," he said, voice softening to a whisper. "What exactly do you suspect is going on? Has Katie said anything to you?"

"No, she says she just sees David watching her sleep at night, and it gives her the creeps. I'm going to talk to David about it. If it happens again, I will kick him out myself. I'm the man of this house, not him. What I say goes."

"You're 17, dude. To adults you're a little kid, not a man," Logan said pessimistically. Typical Logie. But Kendall knew his small friend would always back him up on anything.

"I know," Kendall mumbled. "But if he doesn't leave, than I am. I turn 18 in 4 months. I'll go get my own place."

"Really?" Logan asked, surprised. He would have never thought Kendall would leave his mom and sister, or the other boys for that matter.

"Don't worry," Kendall said with a grin. "You guys and Katie are coming with me."

"Well duh," Logan said, deciding to keep the long lists of facts why Kendall wouldn't be able to just go live with 4 under-aged kids as soon as he turned 18 and that it would be considered kidnapping to himself.

Kendall jumped when there was a knocking sound on the door and David poked his head in, giving the 2 boys a falsely sweet smile.

"Oh look, daddy's home," Kendall said sarcastically, under his breathe but still loud enough for David to hear. David decided to ignore the comment and continue glaring at him with that smile. Kendall decided to stare at the floor, anywhere but that ugly face in front of him.

"What was all this talk about moving out?" David asked casually, and Kendall's stomach flipped. Logan glanced at his older brother nervously. Did David overhear all of that?

Instead of reacting with fear, Kendall reacted with anger. His eyebrows twisted into a furious knot and he glared at his father. "You were listening to us? This is me and my brother's room, you can't just listen to any conversation you want to!"

David clenched the doorknob tightly, slightly amused but mostly angered by his challenging boy. "Kendall, come here. I need to talk to you."

"Good, 'cause I need to talk to you," Kendall said acidly. Logan grabbed Kendall's sleeve, but the blonde carefully removed his hand.

"I'll be right back, stay here Loges," Kendall said, than left to follow his dad out of the apartment. David led him down to a quiet area of the parking lot and turned to his son, seething.

"What do you want, David?" Kendall said, staring at the asphalt like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Since he wasn't watching David, he wasn't expecting the sting of David's rough, callused hand against his soft cheek. Kendall gasped in surprise and immediately put his hand to the assaulted skin.

"Well I see some things haven't changed," Kendall said, shaking off the painful sting.

"I told you, you are to call me dad. It's respectful," David spat. Kendall had to laugh at this.

"Respectful?" Kendall said incredulously. "You're a disgusting loser who drank his life away, beat his son, and left his family with _nothing!_ I remember the beatings, David! I don't know if you were expecting me to be too young to remember but I do, every single blow you dealt me is fresh in my mind!" Kendall was screaming now. "But I'm not some little defensive boy anymore, I'm 17 years old. I can fight back."

David smirked. "Really, you think you can fight me, Kendall?"

"If I had to, yes," Kendall said, clenching a fist. "What is your reason to be here? Why the fuck do you feel the need to waltz back into my life and screw everything up? We don't know you, we don't want you. I sure as hell don't love you. I stopped loving you the night you started beating me and told me I couldn't tell my own mother the real reason why I would come home with bruises all over my stomach!" Memories were hitting Kendall like a brick now, pent up anger from 11 years ago running cold through his blood. Tears welled up behind his eyes but he didn't dare let them loose. It was taking everything he had in him not to maul his father right then and there.

"You really think your mother didn't know?" David growled. "You think she was that dumb, Kendall, to believe that you simply 'fell out of a tree' or had a 'hockey accident'? Maybe she knew everything. Maybe she thought you deserved it, just as much as I thought you did."

"No, mom would never let me get hurt! She loved me," Kendall said, faltering a bit. His father was lying. He had to be.

David laughed bitterly, looking down at his son in disgust. "Love you? Who could love something like you? You aren't even a product of love, boy. Your mother was drunk when I fucked her. You are nothing but a stupid mistake."

Kendall felt as if David slapped him again, momentarily paralyzed by the cruel words. Who talks to their 17 year old like that? "Don't you ever speak that way about my mother ever again!" Kendall roared, pushing his father back with all his strength. He had never been so offended in his life. "You come back with all these lies! I don't believe them one bit!"

"Don't you ever touch me again!" David warned, grabbing Kendall's wrists and twisting them slightly. Kendall's face contorted in pain as the boy tried to get away from this horrid man.

"Let go of me!" Kendall cried, and David finally released him when he saw a couple walking in the distance, startled by the yelling going on between the boy and the man.

"You're just a coward," Kendall taunted. "You will be out of my house soon I'll make sure of it. Katie told me she sees you in her room at night. Is this true? 'Cause I swear to God if it is, I will castrate you myself."

David smirked. "What? A father can't admire his beautiful angel while she sleeps? All parents, moms and dads alike, do that."

"You son of a bitch," Kendall said in disbelief. "You don't know her! I was more of a dad to her than you ever will be! I raised her since she was born! If I ever see you in her room again, I will call the cops. You stay away from my baby sister."

"Or what?" David said, still smiling that crooked, idiotic smile. "What good would calling the cops do, huh?"

"Then I will do something myself. I'm serious. You don't go near that little girl." Kendall turned to leave, but David grabbed his arm in a bruising grip and leaned in close to his ear, making the teenager shudder.

"I'm staying, Kendall. And there's nothing you can do about it." David released Kendall with a shove. The blonde gave David a dark, threatening glare before stomping back to the apartment.

"Kendall, what's wrong?" Logan asked when the blonde came into their shared room and dived into his bed, burying his face in his pillow. The young genius noticed Kendall's shoulder quiver and heard soft whimpers coming from his throat.

"Are you crying?" Logan asked, concerned and amazed. Kendall never cries. He crawled up onto Kendall's bed and rubbed the boys back.

"I hate him so much," Kendall said in between soft, quiet sobs. Logan lay down and rested his cheek on Kendall's shoulder blades, arms wrapped around his torso in a protective hug.

"It's ok, I gotcha," Logan soothed. He held Kendall until the older boy fell asleep.

Kendall woke up from his deep sleep with a start. The room was now dark, and he realized he had been asleep for a couple hours. His eyes felt swollen and his throat was sore from crying himself to sleep, but that wasn't why he woke up. He felt an extra weight on his bed that normally wasn't there, a body pressed against his back. It wasn't sweet and protecting like it had been when he fell asleep, though. It was actually strange and uncomfortable.

"Logie?" Kendall asked, confused. He heard Logan snort in his sleep, but it didn't come from behind Kendall. The blonde could see Logan was sound asleep across the room, having gotten up after Kendall fell asleep to sleep in his own bed.

Kendall whimpered, feeling nauseous. He knew it wasn't Katie who was pressed up against him. No, this was a man. With a shuddering breath, Kendall rolled over to see David holding him to his chest, watching him sleep. Kendall nearly jumped out of skin when he saw the green eyes watching him intently, suppressing a scream as to not wake Logan.

"D-David?" Kendall asked nervously. His stomach was churning at the close proximity, and he squirmed out of David's grasp. David smiled at his son and ran a hand through the boy's blonde locks.

"Ssh, it's just daddy, Kendall. Go back to sleep."

"No, go away," Kendall said. He couldn't describe how weird this was making him feel. He just wanted to call out for his mom.

David continued stroking Kendall's hair. "But I wanted to tell you I was sorry, Kendall. Daddy didn't mean to hurt you tonight, you know that right?"

"Yeah, sure just stop touching me," Kendall said. The blonde cringed and whimpered when David leaned forward to kiss his neck tenderly and ran a hand across his cheek.

"It's ok, Kendall. I forgive you. Good night, baby boy." David gave Kendall one last kiss on the neck before finally leaving the room for his own. Kendall shivered, tears falling down his cheeks. Logan heard Kendall's coughs and cries and sat up in alarm.

"Kendall, what's wrong?" Logan asked, turning a light on and rushing to his friends' side.

"Bad dream," Kendall said quickly, drying his tears. He tried to calm himself but it was no use. His stomach was flip-flopping and he looked at Logan with pleading eyes. "I feel sick, Logan."

"Are you going to throw up?" Logan asked gently. "It's ok if you do, I'll help you to the bathroom."

Kendall shook his head, breathing rhythmically to settle the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his belly. "No, I think I'll be ok."

"Ok," Logan said, giving Kendall's shoulder a squeeze. "Try to sleep, buddy. I hope you feel better."

Kendall nodded and burrowed deeper into the covers. Shame was added to the sick feeling now. He was acting so… So weak, like a little child all because of that stupid man. He was supposed to be strong for Logan, not waking him up in the middle of the night, crying.

"Good night Kendall. Wake me up if you need to throw up," Logan said, getting under his blankets.

"Thanks Loges," Kendall said. A few short minutes later, Logan was fast asleep but needless to say, Kendall was up all night, shivering and trying to wrap his young mind around what just happened.

**A/N Wow that was creepy. But I loved writing the fight between David and Kendall! I hope you guys liked it. Please review?**


	7. A regretful decision

A few days passed after the fight Kendall had with David. He refused to even make eye contact with the man and his mother and friends could see how uncomfortable the boy was around his own father. Mrs. Knight kept trying to come up with suggestions to help them get along better, but Kendall refused to listen to her. She was shocked by this. Kendall always listened to her and considered her views and opinions on everything. He was always incredibly mature in that way. But lately, he was starting to act like a hormonal teenager, and that's exactly what Mrs. Knight decided to blame his bad behavior on.

He was getting considerably mouthy, too. Kendall always had an attitude, but he respected his mother. Now, he talked back to her and ignored her when she spoke. It was unusual and worrisome. He refused to eat at the dinner table with the rest of the family and he came home late every night. At about 9 o' clock in the evenings Mrs. Knight would receive a call from Gustavo saying that he had chosen to stay at the studio and work late. At least she knew where he was. And his grades were already starting to drop because he was distracted at school.

Another thing Mrs. Knight noticed was how intently Kendall would watch Katie and his friends whenever David was around. He had this fierce, protective glint in his eyes and whenever David would get anywhere near the boys or Katie, Kendall looked like he was ready to attack. It was as if she could literally see the blood pumping and boiling beneath his skin. Mrs. Knight was starting to wonder if this was really a normal reaction to a situation like this. She knew it was far from healthy. Even though it had only been a week, things were clearly getting worse and worse, so she decided to stop it before it could go any further. Kendall wouldn't like it, but she knew that it would be good for her son.

"Mom, where are we going?" Kendall whined restlessly. His mother had walked right into Rocque Records that afternoon and dragged him out to the car without explaining anything, and she had been deep in thought during the entire, nerve-wracking drive.

Mrs. Knight heaved a sigh and looked over to her son. He looked so... _Tired. _17 year old boys shouldn't be allowed to look so tired from life. She wanted her old son back, the lively, happy sweet boy she was used to, not this exhausted shell.

"You're going to hate me for this," Mrs. Knight said with a slight smile.

"I could never hate you," Kendall mumbled defensively. Mrs. Knight touched his cheek for a moment before turning back to the wheel.

"I know, honey. But you're certainly not happy with me right now, and this might make ithat worse at first but it's for your own good. I only want the best for you, baby. This is going to help you so much, you'll see."

"Mom, what is it?" Kendall asked, curious and a little nervous. She didn't answer him, but she pulled into a parking lot of a 4-story white brick building. Kendall raised his eyebrows and glanced around the lot, wondering what in the world this place is. "Where are we?" He muttered, and then the sign came into his line of vision, a cheery greeting of doom, surrounded by aesthetically pleasing flowers and rocks.

"_Welcome to Sun Valley Psychiatric hospital and offices!"_

"Mom! What the hell is this place?" Kendall cried, turning to his mother, pleading to her with his eyes not to make him go in. He was so confused. Why was everyone suddenly out to turn his life topsy-turvy? He was just a freaking teenager, for God's sakes! He was only trying the best he could. What was wrong with the idiot adults in his life?

"Kendall Donald Knight, watch your language! I arranged for you to speak with a therapist today, I thought it would be good for you."

"This is a mental asylum, mom!" Kendall cried, voice reaching a high pitched whine. Ok, maybe a mental asylum was a bit over the top, but he was pretty sure some crazies lived here.

"Honey, it is not a mental asylum. It is perfectly normal to go here, it keeps you from going crazy. Everybody needs to talk to someone sometimes. It keeps your mind healthy. You bottle things up, Kendall. I'm worried for you. You are changing rapidly. This will help you, I promise."

"Help me? What kind of help is it going to do? Will it magically remove David from our living quarters, will it erase all this messed up crap and turn it back to how it was, when everything was all perfect and happy? No? That's what I thought." Kendall slumped in his seat, folding his arms across his chest defiantly because no way was he getting out of this car.

"Kendall," Mrs. Knight breathed softly. She wished she could just understand her son's mind. It would make things so much easier. Although, to Kendall, it wasn't very hard of a conclusion: Kick David out, and he would be just fine.

"I want to go back to the studio, Mom," Kendall said.

"No, you aren't going back to the studio today. You need to talk to your therapist. She can make this easier for you. You aren't the only boy in the world who is in this situation you know. It's really quite common, and it could be looked at as a blessing. Every boy needs his father. It's never too late to make amends."

"I do not need David," Kendall said through clenched teeth. "I'm not going to forgive him, mom! He- mom, he hit me."

Mrs. Knight felt all her frustration fade, and she stared at Kendall, shocked. "What do you mean, honey?"

"A few nights ago, he slapped me, mom," Kendall said quietly. Was this the right decision, to tell his mom what happened? He immediately regretted it, because what if David found out and just beat him more, like he used to when Kendall was little. Or what if he beat his friends, or Katie, or even his mom? Suddenly, it was a little hard to breathe. He saw a shiny hint of silver in the back of his mind, the gun that David had threatened him with when he was a little boy. He wasn't supposed to tell a soul.

"Honey calm down!" Mrs. Knight said, patting Kendall's back to get him to breathe normally again. He was starting to hyperventilate. She quickly opened the windows for airflow and continued to pat his back, waiting for his breathing to slow before she spoke again. "Your father told me you guys had a fight a few nights ago, he said you weren't being too nice and had to have a talk with you."

Kendall looked at his mom incredulously. Of course she would take David's side. That's what parents did, Kendall had noticed while watching other kids parents. They ganged up on the kid and took each other's sides, not once listening to the kid's end of the story. Kendall had always been lucky enough to not have to worry about that.

"I was pissed at him, mom! Katie said that she sees him in her room at night, watching her. It creeps her out."

"Maybe he just misses her, Ken. I watch you sleep sometimes too, whenever you go away for atour for a couple months and you come back home. We love you kids. And as for the hitting thing, I will tell him that is unacceptable, but he's just trying to be your father again and a father is a disciplinary figure."

"No! Mom, don't tell him, it's no big deal. It won't happen again," Kendall said a little too quickly. He swallowed hard, watching his mother study him.

"I don't want to hear about him hitting my children. I never spanked you kids," Mrs. Knight said. "If it happens again, I'll lay down some rules. I promise this will help you. Logan told me you have been having nightmares, baby."

"Logan told you?" Kendall asked angrily. Ever since that night David had snuck into his bed, Kendall was having nightmares. He thought he was being quiet, but apparently not. He dreaded bedtime every night. It always took him so long to fall asleep, and then the nightmares would start, and then Katie would crawl into his bed from what Kendall knew wasn't a nightmare. It was just a bundle of stress every night, worrying about Katie and dealing with the bad dreams, and it was starting to show. He knew how tired it was making him.

"Yes, he's worried about you, Ken. As am I. Now can we please get in there, we are already 10 minutes late."

"No, I'm not doing that," Kendall said, staring at the building like it was the plague. He locked the doors and made sure his seatbelt was tightly fastened.

"Kendall, please don't be difficult," Mrs. Knight said tiredly. She unclicked his seatbelt, but he re-fastened it and folded his arms once again.

"No," he said simply.

"Honey, I don't want to deal with this right now."

"Well if you don't want to deal with me, than just take me back to the studio, I have work to do!"

"Kendall, you will march right out of this car right now and go to your appointment!"

"_No."_

Mrs. Knight made something of a growling sound, shut off her engine, got out of the car, and went around to the passenger side. She unlocked the door on her key pad and opened it, reached over Kendall, and un-did his belt. Kendall scowled at her. He knew she wouldn't make this easy.

"I'm not leaving this car," Kendall said, stiffening his muscles. He assumed that his mother would not be able to remove a 6 foot tall almost-man from a car, but she reached back in and pulled him out in one fluid motion.

"Let's go," she said in a low, warning tone. Kendall decided to oblige, letting her drag him to the front office, where they signed in and Kendall was immediately taken to a small, cozy room, decorated with knick-knacks like a fancy looking globe and nice book-ends, the walls painted a warm shade of cocoa. Why did he know that? He had to stop hanging around with James so much.

"Hi Kendall, my name is Doctor Edwards," a nice, middle aged man with dark hair said, giving Kendall a huge smile. The man's height and hair and white coat reminded Kendall of what Logan might look like in 35 years.

Kendall just sat in the leather chair across from the Old-Logan, mouth clamped tightly shut. He was good at silent treatments. Whenever Griffin made him a part of that ridiculous reality show he didn't open his mouth the whole day. He just smirked and glued his lips together, exactly what he was doing right now. Old-Logan seemed to realize right off the bat that Kendall would be a hard nut to crack, but still asked him useless, stupid questions anyway. Kendall was wondering why his mother would have ever expected him to just pour his emotions out to some strange dude when she knew he had trouble talking to his own best friends. Kendall just wasn't the type to open up to just anyone. If he was going to talk to anyone about this, it would be little Logan, not the old version sitting across from him.

"You know I'm not the only one who is supposed to be talking here," the man said patiently. He gave Kendall another huge smile and Kendall gave him a falsely sweet smile back. God he wanted out of here.

A few more minutes of the stupid questions and some paint-splotched papers later and Kendall was being hauled out of the small room by Mrs. Knight, who could hear her son yelling insults about the poor man's mother and face all the way out in the waiting room.

"I am so sorry Doctor Edwards," Mrs. Knight apologized, shooting glares at her stubborn son.

"It's ok, it happens all the time," Doctor Edwards said, red faced and loosening his tie. He watched the blonde boy warily, as if the kid was going to attack again. Mrs. Knight was humiliated and took Kendall out of the building quickly.

The drive home was awkward. Mrs. Knight knew Kendall could be a smart ass but that was just out of control. She ignored his pleas for her to take him back to the studio and made a beeline straight to the apartment, where she threw the car into park and turned to the side to face her guilty-looking son.

"Kendall Donald! What was that back there? You completely humiliated me! You are 17 and you were acting like a spoiled child! I raised my kids better than this. What in the world was going through your mind to think that this was acceptable?" Mrs. Knight yelled. Kendall looked at the floor mats, toeing them absent-mindedly.

"I don't know mom, sorry ok?"

"Uh-uh, sorry is not going to cut it, Kendall. I'm very upset at you right now. You are grounded for 2 weeks. No pool, no hockey, no video games, no dates, no hanging out with the boys. You come straight home from work and school, do your homework and go to bed, 9 pm every night."

"What? But mom, you can't ground me!" Kendall whined. He hadn't been grounded since he mooned Deluthe that one time. That was the only time he had ever been grounded! Even when he and his friends showed up on his mother's doorstep with the police in tow, they were barely yelled at.

"Yes, I can. I think I have been too easy on you kids. I just assumed you were always going to be a perfect angel, and you are my angel but I need to remember that you are just a teenaged boy. You need discipline. Maybe your dad has the right idea, about spanking. Not just you, but the other boys, too. You guys are always causing trouble and-"

"Ok, I get it mom!" Kendall said. He couldn't believe his ears. He got out of the car, slammed the door, and stomped up to his bedroom. He sent a text to Logan saying to get home asap and waited on his bed, thinking about what just happened. Ok, maybe Doctor Edwards didn't deserve for his mom to be insulted, especially when he tried to tell Kendall she was dead (whoops) but this was just ridiculous.

15 minutes later, James, Carlos and Logan were crowded around his bed, anxious to hear why Kendall was so upset.

"Mom took me to a therapist, guys!" Kendall said. He was met with mixed reactions. Carlos laughed, Logan's jaw dropped, and James asked if she was hot.

"No, it was a gross old dude that looked like Logan! No offense, Logan. But that's not that point. Mom is like, she's not the same guys. The mom I knew would have never sent me to a therapist. The mom I knew would have never let David live here. And she grounded me!"

"You're grounded?" Carlos asked. "But you haven't been grounded since you mooned Deluthe with me! Aren't you too old for that?"

"That's what I thought," Kendall said.

"Boys, dinnertime!" Mrs. Knight called. Logan patted Kendall's knee while James and Carlos ran towards where the smell of food was coming from.

"That's rough, bro. Come on, some food will make you feel better."

"I'm not hungry. I don't want to see mom or David," Kendall said.

"But you need food," Logan said.

"I'm really not hungry. Logan, why did you tell mom I was having nightmares? She thinks I'm going insane or something now."

"I'm sorry," Logan said. "Mama Knight just told me to keep an eye on you since we share a room and all, and I can hear you whimpering in your sleep. It scares me, Kendall. You stopped having nightmares long ago. And that one night, a few nights ago you looked so scared. You were pale and sickly and I could tell something terrified you."

Kendall's stomach clenched at remembrance of when David was lying next to him, touching him and pressing himself against his body… Kendall shuddered. That hadn't been just a dream, however much he wished it was. There was no way he could tell Logan what happened. He could only hope it would never happen again.

"I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm fine. I wish everyone would just… Leave me alone. Nothing is going to make this better, Logan. Not until he's gone."

"I know," Logan said softly. "I want things to go back to the way they were, too."

"Well they can't," Kendall said bitterly. "Go on and eat, I know you're hungry, Loges."

"Ok. I'll be back in a bit," Logan said, hesitant to leave Kendall when he looked like he could burst into tears at any moment.

Kendall watched Logan leave and broke out his homework, but it was impossible to concentrate. He gave up shortly and decided to just hand in what he did finish and to hell with the rest.

9 o' clock came quickly. He could hear Carlos and James playing video games and Logan yelling at Carlos for spilling chocolate milk on his homework. He smiled to himself. He wished he was a part of the fun, but even just listening to his friends could brighten his mood. Not too long after bedtime, Mrs. Knight came in and sat beside Kendall.

"Hey mom," he said, turning onto his side to face her. Mrs. Knight smiled and stroked Kendall's tousled hair out of his eyes. She loved her son more then everything. He was such a beautiful boy inside and out, and she couldn't stand to see him so depressed.

"Hey baby. You doing ok? You didn't eat anything and it worried me. I brought you some jello."

Kendall chuckled. His mom was horrible at punishment. She just didn't have the heart to yell at her kids or send them to bed hungry.

"No mom, I'm fine thanks," Kendall said.

Mrs. Knight set the jello aside and wrapped an arm around Kendall's lithe body. She missed holding him like she did when he was a little boy. It was tough, having a son who you would hug and hold endlessly for his whole life, and then all of a sudden he doesn't need it anymore. But to her delight, Kendall curled into her side and closed his eyes in contentment.

"I'm sorry mama," he murmured sleepily. She rubbed his shoulder and kissed his head.

"I'm sorry too, baby. Just tell me what to do, what will make you smile again, Kendall?"

"I want him to get his own place. It's been a week and there is no reason for him to be here. He can still be a part of our lives, but you 2 are still divorced. He shouldn't be here."

"Ok," Mrs. Knight.

"Really?" Kendall asked, feeling a bubble of happiness rise in his chest.

"You're right, Kendall. He said that the living arrangements were just temporary and he would find his own place. If this is making you so truly unhappy than yes, he won't stay here another day. But this means you have to make an effort, understand me young man? You need to be nice and try to understand where your dad is coming from. Can you do that?"

"Yes! Just get him out of here!" Kendall said. Mrs. Knight gave him a disapproving look, but all he had to do was give her his winning smile and she mussed up his blonde locks.

"I love you so much, Kendall."

"Love you too, mom! Oh, does this mean I'm ungrounded?"

"Don't push it. Good night, Kendall."

"Night, mom."

The next day David watched Kendall do his daily routine with daggers in his cold, green eyes and Kendall knew instantly that his mom had talked to him about moving out. Kendall, however, just smiled victoriously all morning, giving his father the most smart-assed look he could muster up every time he saw him.

"Guys, mom told David he has to move out," Kendall said on the way down to their classroom. Carlos let out a cheer.

"It's about time! Maybe we'll never have to see him again!" Carlos said.

Kendall shrugged. "Mom said this means I have to make an effort to like, spend time with him and stuff but I'm just happy he'll be out of here! I can't stand seeing his ugly mug every day!" The guys laughed when Kendall did his happy dance down the hall. They were glad their friend was himself again. That's what they loved best about him, he was so optimistic. If only they knew that the decision to kick David out would be the decision that ruins all of their lives.

**A/N Eek, sorry not much happened in this chapter! Now the real fun starts. David isn't too happy now. Next chapter will be a shocker, and everything will be set into motion! Please review? They are cupcakes!**


	8. Burn

**A/N Lalala! Thank you soooo much for all the reviews and alerts and for reading this! Oh, so I am super excited because you know how before every show Big Time Rush sings "BOOM! Get outta your mind!"? Well, my hip-hop group is going to perform to that song! I am so pumped! Ok, on with it then! Enjoy!**

His blood was boiling. The anger he felt was unimaginable. He wanted to smash all of their heads in, one by one while they all watched. He wanted to watch them suffer, especially his own. His golden haired, green eyed, devilish offspring. He should have killed the child a long time ago, when it would have been easier to rid the world of the boy's existence. Why did he wait? Why didn't he finish him off that night over 10 years ago? Instead, he let him live only for the boy to repay him by ruining his life, his plans.

David let out a roar and his fist crashed into a mirror that hung crooked on the white-washed walls of his new bedroom, no longer inside the tiny apartment of 2J. Shards of crystalline glass embedded themselves into his fist and blood slowly trickled out of the skinny but deep gashes in his hand. The pain only exhilarated him more.

The boys would pay for this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I am so glad he is out of here!" Kendall said, collapsing onto the orange sectional with a plate of tater tots and fish sticks in his hands. It was fish stick Friday and game night. His friends surrounded either side of him, their eyes fixated on the intense hockey game playing out in front of them on their giant, HD television. All four of them wore their matching hockey jerseys while James and Carlos shouted obscenities at the opposing team. Even Logan was getting into it, waving his fist with one hand and stuffing his mouth with a fish stick with the other. Yep, there was no doubt in anybody's minds that Big Time Rush took hockey way too seriously.

Kendall let out a contented sigh, smiling at Carlos who patted him on the knee fondly. This was how it was supposed to be, just him and the guys kicking it on the couch having a good time, minus the elephant in the room aka David effing Knight. His mom had scoured the surrounding area for apartments with David all day after Kendall told her he wanted him to move out, and within 24 hours, the jerk was out of his homey apartment. Even though his mom allowed David a key to the apartment, David hadn't been back since. Kendall hoped maybe he offended him so much he would never come back again. It felt so good. It had been 2 days of a drama-free, happy existence full of excuses of why he was too busy to go spend the day with David, and Katie was able to sleep through the night finally, which was good. Kendall was starting to worry about how tired his little sister was beginning to look, as if she was just going to fall asleep in the middle of school or eating.

The room erupted into a cacophony of cheers, jolting Kendall from his thoughts. His friends were belly-bouncing each other (poor Logan was bounced clear off of the couch) and high-fiving victoriously. Kendall ducked when a couple of hands mussed up his hair. James reached down and pulled Kendall to his feet to join in on the celebration. Kendall laughed and joined in on celebrating the win of his favorite team, letting free all of the worries in the back of his mind. He was a 17 year old kid again.

"Ok boys, time for bed!" Mrs. Knight announced when she heard the game had ended. It was only 10 pm, but she didn't want the boys to have free reign of the house while she was gone to pick Katie up from her friend's house. Her friend lived pretty far away and she would be gone for 2 hours. The boys groaned audibly and pouted. Mrs. Knight just smiled and gave them each a kiss as they passed by her to their rooms. Now that the excitement was over, they were much more tired than they realized and after quick showers and a bedtime story for Carlos who insisted and wouldn't stop insisting, they were fast asleep for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carlos was a tangle of blankets, thumb shoved inside his mouth and his helmet tucked snug in the crook of his elbow. James lay next to him, a pop-up story book half open on his chest, twitching his nose every now and then. They were both dressed in footie pajamas as if they were little boys. A lullaby played on repeat on the CD player in the corner of the bedroom. It annoyed him. A beefy finger reached over and clicked it off quietly.

In the room next to Carlos and James, Kendall lay sprawled out, snoring loudly, blonde hair sticking in every which direction on his pillow. Logan was mumbling about math problems, curled up into a tight little ball, chin tucked into his chest and blankets draped over his tiny body. The wood floor creaked a little and he held his breath. Kendall always was a light sleeper, and the blonde boy smacked his lips and rolled over, but did not wake. Such innocent boys, he thought. It was a shame, really, that he had to ruin it. But he was looking forward to watching their lives unravel. The plan was set into motion. He planted a kiss to Kendall's forehead and left the sleepy, dark apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendall was so hot. Sweat stung his eyes as it dripped from his forehead and through his eyelashes. He briefly wondered if he was sick. He had never been so hot in his life, and he could hear coughing. He was coughing and hacking, and he the same sound could be heard from across the room as well.

As Kendall neared reality more and more, awaking from his deep slumber, things got clearer and clearer. Like the fact this his nose burned and his chest was heavy, and he could hear wood creaking and popping.

"Kendy!" A small voice called in the room, waking the blonde completely. The sense of fear and urgency in the familiar voice sent tingles up his spine.

"Logan?" Kendall tried to croak. His throat was so sore and dry, and for some reason his eyes were blurry and he couldn't focus. It took him a moment to realize the reason why it was hard to see was because the room was enshrouded by a gray, thick cloud of smoke.

Alarmed, Kendall got to his feet and sprinted to Logan's bed. The small boy was crying and hyperventilating from the panic and smoke.

"Oh God, Logie, cover your mouth," Kendall instructed, lifting Logan's sleep shirt so it covered his mouth, to help filter the smoke, then covered his own mouth with his shirt. The smoke was dizzyingly thick as it poured in from underneath the bedroom door.

Despite the pounding in his heart and the fear that threatened to paralyze his mind, Kendall thought quickly. He opened the single window for air circulation and turned to Logan, resting strong hands on his skinny shoulders. Kendall coughed for a moment before looking straight into scared, dark eyes.

"Stay right here, I will be right back, I'm gonna go see what is going on. Go to the window and stick your head out, just try to breathe."

Logan nodded. His mind was on auto-tune, it did whatever Kendall told him too, unable to think for himself. He was just about to go to the window when an explosion sounded through the apartment. Both boys screamed and grabbed onto each other, staring at their door and wondering what in the hell was going on out there.

"Go!" Kendall said, pushing him towards the window. He raced to the door and wrapped his hand around the handle, ready to swing the hunk of wood open.

"Shit!" Kendall screamed, pulling his hand back and crying out in pain. The metal scorched his skin, immediately causing the first delicate layer to bubble. He held his hand to his chest and whimpered, then pounded on the door with his good hand.

"Guys!" He screamed. "Is everyone ok out there?" The terrified blonde listened carefully. His shouts were met with frantic cries for help. It sounded like James and Carlos. He could recognize their voices anywhere, even when they were just incoherently screeching.

"I'm coming guys, hold on!" Kendall screamed. Getting his friends too safety was his only thought. He grabbed a blanket and used it to open the door.

Heat rushed his face, causing him to choke and sputter. Smoke raveled around his face, crawling through his nose and into his lungs. The heat was so intense. It singed his skin, it burned his eyes so much he could barely keep his eyelids open, and it felt like all the moisture was sucked out of his body.

"Oh God… No, please," Kendall whispered, taking in the horrific sight before him. The entire apartment, his home, was being licked and attacked by huge, threatening flames. Orange flickering glows laminated the darkness, creating an eerie look when mixed with the gray and black billows of smoke. The furniture was being eaten away by the hungry fire, the swirly slide was slowly meting away.

Kendall was only stunned for mere seconds. His friend's cries brought him out of his paralysis. He carefully dodged the small wall of flames near him. Luckily, this end of the apartment wasn't completely taken over by fire, and kicked the door to the floor. The wood splintered easily, weakened by the fire, and he ran in and immediately gathered a crying Carlos into his arms. James was coughing violently, looking at Kendall with lost eyes. He didn't know what to do or what was happening.

"We gotta get outta here!" Kendall told James. "Follow me!" Kendall took Carlos' hand and James hung onto Kendall's shirt as the blonde led them out of the room and into the smoky, unbearably hot hallway. Being that they lived on the second floor, the only way out would be the front door, and Kendall bore all the weight on his shoulders as being the leader, the one who was supposed to lead his little brother's to safety.

"Mom and Katie!" Carlos said, gesturing to the 2 bedrooms down the hall. The doors were open and the rooms were empty, and Kendall found a tiny bit of relief in this. They weren't in there, they were safe. He would question where they were later, he was just thankful they weren't here to experience this.

Kendall dragged Carlos and James to his bedroom to fetch the smart boy, who was still alone and probably going out of his mind. "Logie, come here!" Kendall called, peering inside of the bedroom. Logan was leaning out of the window, choking from the immense amount of thick smoke flooding the small room. The brunette turned to Kendall, but his feet were frozen in place. He was too scared to move. And what if he fainted? He couldn't afford to faint now.

"Logan, please come here!" Kendall pleaded, ignoring Carlos' heartbreaking crying. The Latino watched as his beloved yellow slide collapsed to the floor in a sea of flames, causing the fire to roar. James and Carlos yelped from the loud, horrible sound and attached themselves to Kendall limbs, shouting and crying and panicking.

"I'm scared!" Logan shouted. His legs wobbled and shook, threatening not to hold his weight any longer.

"Hold him!" Kendall told James, thrusting Carlos into the tall brunettes' arms. James obliged and clutched the tiny Latino to his chest, watching the flames shoot and flicker in front of him in a frightened awe. Kendall ran to Logan and lifted him bridal style before quickly carrying him out to where James and Carlos stood, holding onto each other and sobbing.

"Kendall what are we going to do?" James wailed, pointing towards the living room. It was bad. There were no clear paths, the fire had spread faster than they could ever imagine. The room was creaking under the strain of weakened wood, and Kendall knew it wouldn't be long before they would be buried under fiery beams of wood. A window blew, sending the boys into a fit of shrieks. They couldn't think clearly. They were deathly scared, teenaged boys and there was nothing they could do. They were trapped.

"It burns Kendall!" Carlos cried, clinging to Kendall's waist for dear life. Logan was choking and wheezing in the blondes arms. Kendall felt utterly helpless and his best friends were slowly dying. What could he do? There was nothing, literally nothing. Tears flooded his dry, burning eyes, but the drops evaporated from the oven-like temperature as soon as they poured from his emerald orbs.

"Kendall," James whimpered in a cracking voice, tugging on his arm. Kendall let out a sob and looked at the brunette with a shake of his head. He didn't know what to do!

"No," James mouthed, his throat too cashed from the smoke to speak properly. Orange and yellow danced in his hazel eyes, which were filled with hope and dependency and mostly unbridled, sheer terror. He knew Kendall was lost, he knew his older brother, his leader, was giving up already.

"Kendy, please," Carlos whispered, watching the fire as if he was in a trance. Logan trembled against his chest, struggling to breathe. He had to do something, now, or it would be too late.

Kendall couldn't just let them die. He'd be damned if he would watch these boys burn to death. Fear was replaced with anger and determination and he turned to them, putting on his best "leader" voice even though it was so hard to talk.

"We have to get to the door, I'm sure there's a path if we look hard enough. We need to get out of here, now. I know it's going to be really scary and hot but just trust me and hold onto me, I know we can do this!" Kendall said. James and Carlos nodded, not needing to be told twice to trust Kendall when they already did with all their heart.

"Logie, you need to walk for me buddy," Kendall said, setting the pale boy down. The blonde saw the light-blue tint to Logan's thin lips. He was severely lacking the oxygen he needed. "James, help him, carry him if you have to. Carlos, hold my hand." Kendall grabbed the Latino's shaky, sweaty fingers and pulled him along. The oldest boy tried to ignore the screams of fright and pain behind him as they slowly inched through the blazing living room. Something told Kendall inside him that this was a stupid plan, it couldn't work, but it was also their only hope.

But halfway through the room, they had to stop. It was like walking through a furnace. Flames licked above their heads and the floor threatened to give out beneath them. It was so dark that the boys could barely see 2 inches in front of them.

"James!" Carlos cried out when the tall boy fell to the floor in a heap of coughs, nearly crushing Logan who was curled in his arms. They wouldn't last much longer like this and Kendall knew it. He could feel himself getting dizzier as more and more oxygen was depleted from the apartment.

Anxious, panicked screams could be heard in the distance, over the loud sounds of the raging fire. Kendall could tell it was coming from the direction from of the front door. It was his mother, screaming his name.

"My son is in here, my boys!" His mother shrieked, and he could picture the small, sweet woman trying to fight her way inside.

"Mama!" Kendall cried, savoring the sound of her voice. He wanted her in here, He needed her. But he also wanted her to be where it was safe.

"Baby, I can hear you! Help is coming!" Mrs. Knight said, tears of joy flooding her eyes when she heard her son answer.

"Mom I'm scared!" Kendall cried. Now Carlos was barely able to stand on his own 2 feet and Logan was definitely unconscious. James was panting and crying, clutching his arm. He knew the fire had scorched his arm badly, he could feel the skin sizzling beneath his pajamas. It was hard to avoid the flames.

"Boys, get as far away from the fire as you can get, we are going to get you out of there!" A man's voice yelled.

"L-let's go," Kendall tried to say, but he couldn't even hear his own faltering voice. He tried to take a step but knee's wobbled wildly. His heart shattered at the sight of his friends at his feet. Logan passed out cold from lack of oxygen, James and Carlos hugging each other on the floor. Kendall felt a surge of strength go through him and he lifted Logan to his chest.

"Follow me, we can't stay here!" Kendall told the Latino and the brunette. The young boys stumbled to their feet, coughing and choking. Their lungs felt like lead and their chests were burning. It was so hard to breathe. They just wanted to take a deep breath of clean air.

"J-James," Carlos moaned, feeling incredibly dizzy as he retreated back to the hallway. The room spun and he fell forward. James caught him and carried the wheezing boy like Kendall carried Logan.

The 2 conscious boys were burned several times on the way back but they forced themselves to keep going. It was a slow process but finally they made it to the end of the hallway and into Kendall's mom's room, which was the last bedroom in the apartment. They huddled against the back wall and held the smaller boys protectively, listening to their ragged breathing.

"I-I can't br-breathe," James choked out tearfully, resting his tired head on Kendall's shoulder. He just wanted to sleep. He coughed violently and Kendall swooped an arm around him.

"No, buddy, you gotta stay awake, help is coming, I promise!" Kendall said, but James had already succumbed to peaceful darkness. A loud sob broke through Kendall's abused throat. He could see the flames, creeping closer into the room. He struggled to stay awake but it was so hard, sleep seemed too easy.

Kendall wondered if this was the end, surely it had to be. The fire was gaining more and more strength and inched closer and closer to where Kendall sat, holding all 3 boys to his chest. This couldn't be happening. His family wasn't going to perish in a fire. Hopelessness and despair closed in around him, as did the suffocating smoke and flames. He put his head down and sobbed loudly.

"Son! Are you awake?" Kendall heard a faint voice ask. The young blonde forced his aching eyes open and turned towards the sound. A firefighter peered through the bedroom window with outstretched arms.

"God, thank you," Kendall whimpered through a fit of coughing. He looked down at the 3 boys in his lap who were barely even breathing. Kendall refused to think of the possibility that they may not be breathing at all anymore.

"Help them," Kendall croaked, lifting Logan up and handing the tiny boy to the man. "H-hurry." Kendall grabbed Carlos next and handed his limp body to the man, praying he could take 2 since both teenagers were so little. Thankfully, he was able too.

"We're coming for you next," the firefighter assured him, making his decent down the ladder already. Kendall shook his head. There was no time. The blonde copied the hero's actions and swung James' heavy weight over his shoulders. All he felt was adrenaline, there was no fear left in the teenager as the he followed the firefighters steps down the ladder, carrying his best friend to safety.

Kendall gasped and fell to his knees as soon as his feet hit the ground, gasping for sweet precious air. Everything around him was a blur. He could hear distant voices yell out something about breathing. His friends were breathing, they were alive. He could see their bodies being attacked with oxygen masks, but they were alive, it was all that mattered. He could see glimpses of his mother and baby sister, safe and sound but terrified, running towards him. Paramedics were speaking to him and covering him with blankets. Something was strapped to his face and air rushed into his nose and mouth. It was so surreal, he couldn't tell if it was a dream or not because the images seemed as if they were flashing in and out of focus, his senses were in overdrive. Darkness shrouded his vision as he used the last bit of strength he had to look up at his apartment, completely over taken by the menacing flames that nearly took his family's life. That was the last thing he saw. The last thing he felt was his mother's arms around him before finally welcoming the darkness.

**A/N Meep! Yeah. I know nothing about fires. Are you guys going to kill me? Take your anger out on David, not me! I love you all. Review please? I'm all nervous about this, hope it turned out ok. Yeah. I need sleep, desperately! Love you all!**


	9. Recovering

**A/N I am so sorry this is so late! Dance and work has been taking over my life, and then "Trapped" decided to birth itself from my brain and threw everything all off lol. Thanks everyone for the awesome reviews, they mean the world to me! Hope you like this!**

Kendall could hear the faint but comforting sounds of his mother speaking to him, but he was lost in a pit of darkness. He had been trying desperately to climb out of the pit for what seemed like hours, but he was so exhausted, he only continued to succumb to the deep sleep. But finally, the garbled, muffled sounds of the familiar voice became clearer and louder, and he clawed his way through the dark abyss.

The first thing Kendall realized was the heavy, clogged feeling in his chest. He let out a fit of coughs, and he could feel his mother's warm hand on his cheek, talking him through the painful process.

"Mom?" Kendall asked between chokes, gasping for sweet air.

"I'm here, baby. Mom's right here. Are you ok honey?"

Kendall groaned, too weak to answer his mother's tearful question. He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids open, and when he did, white light flooded in, blinding his burning, gritty feeling eyes, and he cried out in pain and immediately closed his eyes again.

"What is it, baby? Are you hurting?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"B-bright," Kendall said. He wanted to shield his eyes, but his limbs felt like he 1000 pound weights. He couldn't lift his arm if he wanted to.

"Ok, I shut off the light, honey. Can you try to open your eyes again for me?"

Kendall did what his mother asked of him, and this time the light wasn't nearly as bright as only a single, dim lamp was left on, but his eyes still hurt a bit. It took a few moments, but his emerald orbs finally focused on his mother's worried face. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and let her know he was fine, even though he had no recollection of what happened, but he still was too weak to move.

"Mom, Wh-" Kendall started coughing again. His throat hurt so much, and his voice was nothing more than a pitiful croak. He looked at her, confused and desperate, hoping she would catch on that he had no idea what was happening.

"There was a fire, honey," Mrs. Knight said, tears welling in her eyes. "You and the boys were caught in it. Katie and I were at her friend's house when it happened. Don't worry, the boys are ok Kendall," Mrs. Knight reassured her son when panic struck his features.

"Mom," Kendall coughed out, hot tears stinging at his abused eyes. He remembered everything that happened. The fresh memories just needed a kick start in his mind. It was the most horrifying experience that he ever went through in his life. He could still hear James' crying and Carlos' screams. He could feel Logan's dead weight in his arms and the overwhelming burn of the angry fire against his skin. It really happened. It was something even his worst nightmares had never thought up, and it really happened to him.

"Kendall, it's ok baby. You and the boys are safe now, honey. You have a 3rd degree burn on your hand and a few other 2nd degree burns on various parts of your body, but the doctor treated them and they will heal right up. You inhaled a dangerous amount of smoke but aside from a sore throat and a bad cough for a little while, you will be just fine. The other guys got some burns just like you did, and Logan inhaled the most smoke, but the doctors fixed him right up. They need to keep him on oxygen for the rest of the day, but he will be ok. He's sleeping right now. He's sharing a room with Carlos, who only has a couple of 2nd degree burns. You boys were so lucky, honey. I was afraid I lost you, Kendall."

As soon as tears fell freely from Mrs. Knight's dewy eyes, Kendall lost it too. Tiny, quiet sobs escaped his pained chest, and his mother leaned forward to wrap him in a comforting hug.

"Oh baby, it's ok. You're safe now, Kendall. I know it was scary but it's ok now," Mrs. Knight cooed, wiping fat teardrops from Kendall's flushed cheeks. "You know you were so brave, baby boy. You protected your brothers. You stepped up and saved their lives. I'm proud of you, baby. Try to get some sleep, ok? I'll be right here when you wake up."

Kendall nodded and, feeling more exhausted than ever, closed his eyes and let his mother's soft voice lull him to sleep.

Sunlight streamed into the small, white hospital room next time Kendall awoke. A few things were different this time, he noticed. First off, his mother was nowhere in sight, and his throat and eyes didn't hurt half as much as they did, and he wasn't so tired. He could actually move his head around and his limbs didn't feel quite as heavy.

With a deep breath, Kendall heaved himself up into a sitting position and assessed his injuries. His right hand was completely wrapped in a heavy white bandage, and it took him a moment to remember he had tried to open the scorching hot door knob. He didn't even want to know what his hand looked like underneath the heavy wrapping.

"Crazy night, huh?" A rough, cracked voice asked from across the room. Kendall nearly jumped out of his skin; he had thought he was alone this whole time. The blonde turned to see James sitting in the bed next to his. His hair was messy and his arm was bandaged much in the same way Kendall's hand was, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

"James," Kendall breathed, eyes lighting up when he saw his brunette friend. "Hey, bro. Are you ok?"

James shrugged. "My arm is pretty gross looking, but I'll survive. You have been sleeping for like, 12 hours dude. It's 6 o' clock in the evening. You just missed your mom. She left 15 minutes ago to get some dinner for Katie and David."

Kendall's heart skipped a beat and he stared at James with nervous eyes. "David is here?"

"No, he left with your mom to get Mcdonalds. He seemed pretty upset about this whole thing. He wouldn't stop asking about you the entire time he was here. He's really worried about you, Kendall."

Kendall scoffed. "Yeah, right. How are Carlos and Logan doing?"

"They're fine. They woke up a couple of hours ago. I visited them a little bit ago. Logan is still on oxygen but he should be off of it by tonight- whoa, what are you doing, Kendall?"

Kendall swung in legs off of the side of his bed and shakily got to his feet, than reached his good hand out to James. "I want to go see Logan. I need to make sure he's ok with my own eyes. He almost died last night, James. W-we all did."

"I know, but we didn't," James said with sympathy. "We got out of there, Kendall. We're ok. Get back in bed, dude. You need to rest."

Kendall shook his head and kept his hand outstretched. "I just need us all to be together right now, James," he said, voice faltering a bit. To be honest, the events of the past night had freaked him out a little too much and he just wanted to know that his buddies were ok. He could still feel the same fear deep inside of him from when he saw the fire the first time, trying to claim everything-and everybody- he loved. He knew, as well as James, that if they were in that apartment for even a few minutes longer they would all be goners right now.

"Ok," James sighed, taking Kendall's hand and slowly getting to his feet. His chest ached and his knees wobbled but Kendall looked like he was about to break down any second. "We're going to get in trouble though."

"What else is new?" Kendall asked with a cough. James chuckled and shook his head, leading his friend to Carlos and Logan's room.

**A/N Oh jeez that was short. I am so sorry! I have been so busy, I barely have any time to write at the moment. But I figured short chapters are better than no chapters, right? I have some pretty awesome plans for this, so stick with me! Next chapter will be kind of sad and angsty. And David is just going to continue screwing things up! I know I didn't explain much in this chap but next one I will. Please review?**


	10. Hero

**A/N You are all so amazing! Thanks so much for all the amazing reviews! Hey, if you guys like James whump, check out Ashley Jordan's story "Scarecrow", it's amazing!**

**Random fact: I have 31 giant Big Time Rush posters, and a dozen of them are 2-sided. And I have well over 40 pin-ups. Oh how I love them so. Ok, on with the whump! (uuhhh I don't have time to check for typos right now so ignore any that you see)**

"Logan," Kendall breathed out softly as he entered the small room that James led him too. His tiny, pale friend was curled up on his side, sleeping peacefully. His normally flawless white skin was marred with painful looking red marks. One on his neck, a couple on his arms… There were so few, but too many. It was an ugly reminder of what happened last night. And even though he wasn't horribly burned, his face was a chalky shade of gray and puffs of oxygen were fed to him through tubes that ran through his nose. He looked terribly ill, and Kendall only hoped that it looked worse than it really was.

"He's ok bro," James assured him, placing a heavy hand on the blonde's quivering shoulders. James could see how much strength it was taking Kendall just to stand, so the taller boy led him to a chair and sat him down before tiredly sitting down himself and smiling at Carlos, who was half-awake and clutching a teddy bear to his chest.

"Carlitos, hey buddy," Kendall said fondly, reaching over to ruffle the small boy's black curls. Carlos smiled and leaned into his big brother's touch.

"Kendall, you're awake. I thought you'd never come to see me," Carlos croaked. His voice sounded just as rough and painful as James' did.

Kendall smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I guess I was just really tired. Did my mom buy you that?" Kendall asked, gesturing to the brown teddy bear that was snug in the crook of the Latino's arm.

"No, James brought it for me," Carlos replied, and Kendall grinned and mouthed a "thank you" to James. The blonde was proud that he could always rely on James to fill in for him when he couldn't perform his brotherly duties.

Carlos suddenly yawned loudly. He was mellowed out from the low dose of pain medication he was put on, and he was getting very sleepy.

"Go to sleep, 'Los," Kendall said, gently but firmly. "I'm here now. James and I will be here when you wake up, too."

Carlos gave Kendall a weak smile and settled down into his pillow. "'Kay. Night, guys."

"Night, Carlos," the 2 taller boys chided. They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, watching their young friends sleep peacefully.

"He's going to take it the hardest," James whispered, so low that Kendall could barely hear his broken voice. The brunette nodded towards Carlos when Kendall gave him a questioning look. The blonde caught on and his stomach sank. James was right. When Carlos was completely healed and off pain medicine, how in the world were they to explain to the innocent boy that his swirly slide and his helmet and all his hockey trophies were gone forever?

Kendall's shoulder's quaked when the thought hit him, heavy as a brick wall.

_It was all gone._

The life they had worked so hard to make for themselves was gone in a puff of smoke. Their home was utterly destroyed. He knew not one piece of furniture could be salvaged, and he hadn't even seen the aftermaths yet. How could anything survive such a fire? How did _they _survive it? They should be dead right now, just a thin layer of ashes among the remains of their prized possessions.

"Kendall, dude, are you alright?" James asked when small, perfectly shaped tear drops fell from the corners of Kendall's sorrowful eyes. Kendall took a shaky breath and wiped his good hand over his damp face.

"Y-yeah, James. I just… Last night really scared me man," Kendall admitted, keeping his voice quiet so Logan and Carlos wouldn't be able to hear. He would never tell the smaller boys what he was about to say to James. No, he was meant to protect Logan and Carlos, but when the times were always tough, he could always tell James anything. The brunette was surprisingly mature. His conceited nature was nothing more than an act. Underneath all of his Cuda spray and tanning lotion, and even all that drive and passion, was the most understanding, kind person Kendall ever met. Sure, James was dramatic and sometimes clueless, but that just made him endearingly innocent. Kendall had a habit of bottling his emotions, but James was the only one that held the key to open the stubborn boy up.

"It scared me too Kendall," James said. Hazel eyes concentrated on Kendall's distressed features. "Kendall, what's wrong? Talk to me, bro."

"We should have perished in that fire, James. We should be burnt beyond recognition right now," Kendall said. His emerald orbs showed so much emotion, it was almost overwhelming for James. The brunette had never seen Kendall so upset in his life.

"We _could have_ perished in that fire," James corrected. "But we didn't. We made it through, just like we make it through everything life throws at us. You were so calm and so level headed. Carlos and Logan were too afraid to move- heck, I admit I was too afraid to move. But you got us out of their alive. You stayed conscious just to make sure we got out of that apartment. You literally walked through fire last night, Kendall. It was amazing. You were a hero, dude."

Kendall blushed. He had been replaying the events of last night in his head over and over, and he never once would have thought of himself as a hero. In his mind, he had nearly gotten his friends killed. It was only a lucky break that the firefighter got to them just in time.

"Hey, you shouldn't be thinking like that man," James continued. "It will tear you apart."

Kendall nodded, than cracked a smidgen of a smile. "Where is this all coming from? Is this the same boy who bought a cow for a school project talking?"

James shrugged. "I don't know, I guess all that smoke messed with my brain or something. And for your information, I didn't buy the cow, Carlos and I stole it."

Kendall snorted, than cringed. Laughing was quite painful. "You stole a cow? How is that possible, James. It's not like you can just sneak into a farm with a rummage sack and pack a 1000 pound animal up and run away."

"Hey, it's amazing what you can do with a rope, a skateboard, and Carlos," James said seriously. Kendall broke into a fit of giggles, because giggling didn't hurt quite as much as outright laughing did, and James followed.

"What ever happened to that cow anyway?" Kendall wondered. The last he heard of the giant animal was that he was being chased down the freeway by a jammie-clad James and Carlos.

"Enh, Carlos said he '_set him free',"_ James said, making air quotations with his fingers. "But in Carlos, language, who knows what that means."

"Oh," Kendall said, pondering that for a moment, than going into another giggle fest because the poor cow was probably still roaming around the city, looking for its farm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTRISFREAKINGAMAZINGSLURP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Knight stood outside of the closed door with a bag of hamburgers in her hand, listening to the strained laughter coming from her boys inside of the room. Even though the laughter was laced with coughs, it was still such a sweet sound to her ears. Her boys were alright. They were shaken up and scared, but they were alive and well. When she was driving home with Katie last night she could see the smoke from nearly a mile away, and as she drove closer and closer, the panic got more and more intense, fear rising to the throat because for some reason she had just known that it was her apartment, with her angels inside of it, that was burning.

And she had been right. By the intensity of the fire, she had assumed the worst before she even got out of her car. She had broken down into tears of relief and had to force herself not to faint when she heard Kendall call out her name. He wasn't dead, but it was a close call. And when she ran outside because a fireman had announced that it would be impossible to enter the fire and retrieve the boys so they had to rescue them from a window, her heart had swelled with joy and pride. Even from such a distance, she could see her son trying to save Carlos and Logan, and then he swung James' body over his shoulder and climbed down after the firefighter… It was like something out of a movie scene. It was beautiful. She had the bravest, most amazing son she could ever ask for.

Mrs. Knight felt hands grip her shoulders and squeeze them, waking her up from her daze. She gasped in surprise and smiled when she looked over her shoulder and saw David behind her, giving her an encouraging smile.

"You ready to go in?" He asked in his gruff voice. She nodded and took his hand, and he opened the door for her.

"Babies!" The womanly mother exclaimed when she walked into the room. Kendall and James looked up from their silly conversation and burst into grins.

"Mom!" Kendall cried, outstretching his arms as if he was a little boy again, practically begging for one of her famous, comforting hugs.

"Hi honey," she said softly, holding Kendall to her chest and running a hand through his golden locks.

"Hi, Mama K!" James said, mimicking Kendall and holding out his arms. Mrs. Knight smiled and hugged James next, rocking him gently. She started asking questions a mile a minute, about how they were feeling and if they slept well and what kind of burgers they wanted. Kendall watched and listened happily to the familiar sounds, until he noticed that his mother had not come alone. David stood at the door, watching them with his piercing green eyes. Kendall's stomach immediately felt at unease when he saw the man. For some reason, David always frazzled Kendall's nerves. He just gave off the weirdest vibes.

"Kendall, how are you feeling little man?" David asked when his son made eye contact with him. Kendall's face soured and he looked away. After everything that happened, all Kendall wanted was some alone time with his family, and David was the last person he wanted to see right now.

Kendall blinked when he felt a rough, unfamiliar hand against his forehead, and he flinched away when he realized that David was feeling his forehead. Kendall hated the feeling of David touching him. It was uncomfortable and strange to him.

"Are you alright buddy? You look kind of pale," David said. Kendall subconsciously scooted closer to his mother, who sat next to Kendall on the large armchair, unpacking the bag of burgers.

"That's probably only because I nearly died last night," Kendall said bitterly, and butterflies swam in his stomach when David went over to Carlos and Logan and felt their foreheads. It made Kendall feel downright sick when the man touched his little brothers. He did not like it one bit.

"Kendall, manners," Mrs. Knight mumbled. She removed the pickles from a hamburger and handed it to her son. "There you go, baby. No pickles, just how you like it. David, are Logan and Carlos running fevers, honey?"

Kendall groaned and pushed away his food. There went his appetite.

"I can't tell, I think Logan is feeling a little warm," David answered, his hand stroking the small boy's cheek. Kendall had to sustain a growl. He wanted to rip his mangy hands off of Logan's delicate skin. David shouldn't be touching them like that anyway, that was his mother's job.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Logan always gets a little over heated after a lot of excitement," Mrs. Knight said. She left Kendall's side and pushed away Logan's bangs gently so she could rest her hand on his forehead.

"Yeah, he's fine," she confirmed. "I'm going to wake them up so they can eat, it's been ages since they ate properly. Can you wake up Carlos for me?"

"I'll do it!" Kendall said with his mouth full of hamburger. He jumped to his feet a little too quickly and dizzily cut David's path off as he made a beeline for Carlos' bed. He shook the Latino gently until sleep-dazed, puppy dog eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Carlos, how are you doing?" Kendall asked sweetly, sitting next to his friend. Carlos rubbed at his eyes and yawned.

"M'tired," he mumbled. Kendall smiled and patted his side.

"Are you hungry? Mom brought burgers."

"Mama K is here?" Carlos asked, his voice livening up a little bit. He sat up and greeted his surrogate mom with a huge grin and a hug.

"Hi, honey! I thought you might be hungry so I brought you some burgers."

"I'm starving!" Carlos said while un-wrapping his burger wildly. He stuffed nearly half of it into his mouth at one time.

"Carlos, slow down their little guy," David said with a chuckle, patting the Latino's back. Kendall rolled his eyes. He wished this guy would just leave already.

"Ow!" Carlos cried in a high pitched whine, tears immediately welling up in his eyes. Kendall gasped and gently grabbed Carlos' arm.

"What's wrong, what happened 'Los?" Kendall asked frantically.

Mrs. Knight suddenly hissed in sympathy. "Oh, his back has a couple of small burns, David," she said. David recoiled his hand immediately and Kendall shot the man daggers with his eyes.

"Just don't touch him," Kendall warned angrily. Mrs. Knight stared at her son in surprise.

"Kendall, mind your manners. I'm not going to tell you again," she said sternly. Kendall just scowled.

It took a couple of minutes, but Logan finally woke up and joined in on dinner. Kendall merely watched them. He wasn't hungry anymore in the least bit, and several more minutes passed before he realized something was missing.

"Hey mom, where's Katie?" Kendall asked.

"Oh, she's with Gustavo at his mansion right now. He'll be bringing her over in a couple hours to tell you guys good night. I thought she had enough of being in the hospital for a while. Ok, everyone finish up your burgers and James and Kendall, get on back to bed."

"Can I stay in here with Logan and Carlos?" Kendall asked. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Logan yet, and he really wanted to make sure his timid friend was ok.

"No, honey, the doctor wants you to stay in your own bed tonight and get well. You shouldn't even have come in here in the first place."

"But mom, I really want to stay in here for now," Kendall said, drooping his green eyes sadly.

"I'm sorry baby, but you need to go lie down. You can come back in here tomorrow morning," Mrs. Knight said.

"But mom-"

"Kendall, your mother said no!" A deep voice suddenly barked, making all 4 boys jump. Carlos' lower lip trembled in surprise at the mean tone that David possessed. "I don't want to hear you arguing with your mother, do you understand me?"

Kendall just pouted, too stunned to talk back. He didn't want to give David another reason to snap again and scare Carlos, so any snide remarks that popped into his brain he held inside.

"Come on Ken, let's go back to the room," James said protectively, holding out a helpful arm. Kendall gave David one last look and let James help him to his feet, than followed him out of the room without even saying good night to his mom.

**A/N I hope that was ok! Next chapter will deal with some new living arrangements, heehee. And the boys will be visiting the ruined apartment. Sad day So stay tuned for more angst, whump and fluff! Thanks for reading! Remember to check out Ashley Jordan's stuff and enjoy the new episode of BTR! Love you all so much please review :D **


	11. the new apartment

**A/N Thanks everyone for the reviews, signed and anonymous! And a special thanks to my unnamed reviewer who said "this story is my life!" Thank you, that was incredibly sweet!**

**This chap is just gonna skip ahead a couple of days after the boys are healed!**

"Come on Kendall, look on the bright side. At least we're out of the hospital," Logan said, trying to cheer his pouting friend up a bit. Kendall had been sulking for the past 2 days, ever since his mother announced that they were going to be staying with David. Mrs. Knight had assured them that it wouldn't be permanent, but Kendall had a feeling that they were going to be staying there for a long while.

"Yeah, it's gonna be awesome!" Carlos chimed in innocently. "David said he got us bunk beds. We'll all be sharing a room!"

Logan winced. None of the boys accept for Carlos was looking forward to sharing a room with each other. 4 teenage boys in one tiny room was going to be difficult and a little too nuts to handle, especially since they had such strong, clashing personalities.

"Boys, it's time to go," Mrs. Knight announced, entering the hospital room that the boys were gathered in. "David is waiting for you in the van and Katie is waiting in the apartment. Are you boys ready?"

"Yeah we're ready," Kendall said bitterly. Mrs. Knight sighed and cupped Kendall's cheek with her hand.

"Kendall, babe, I know it's hard for you. But this could be a good thing," Mrs. Knight said. "It will bring us all a little closer together."

"Yeah, a little too close," Kendall scoffed.

"Kendall, watch your tone," Mrs. Knight warned gently. "Listen, nobody said life is without challenge. But we'll get back on our feet and things will be the same again soon, I promise. Tomorrow we're going to rummage through the apartment and salvage what we can, and we're on the waiting list to get a new apartment at the Palmwoods. Mr. Bitters even offered to do his best to move us up on the list a bit. So just hang in there, ok?"

Kendall nodded emotionlessly. He was getting sick of his mother's constant pep-talks. Nothing she could say made the situation a little better. He didn't _want _to look on the positive side of things. No matter how he tried to look at it, he still felt the same sense of dread and anger deep inside of his stomach, all because he had to live with David. He wished there was some way he could live somewhere else until a new apartment opened up, but there was no way he could manage getting a place of his own. He barely had enough money to go on dates. Almost all of the money he made through Big Time Rush was put away as ordered by his mother. It kind of irked him at times to know he was making so much money and he and the guys didn't even get to see any of it.

"Come on dude, it won't be so bad," James said, patting Kendall on the shoulder. Carlos and Logan had already followed Mrs. Knight out the door but James stayed behind until Kendall was ready.

"Yes, it will," Kendall said. He felt childish for talking so negatively, especially when his friends were trying to stay so upbeat for his sake. In fact, he was incredibly surprised at how strong his younger friends were staying, and he knew it was all for him.

James' face drooped at Kendall's words, his shoulders slumping slightly. Kendall nudged him apologetically.

"Sorry, dude," Kendall said, immediately regretting his selfishness. "Let's just get this over with."

James smiled sadly and fist-bumped Kendall. "Together?"

"Together," Kendall said, returning the fist-bump, and they left to join Mrs. Knight and the boys in the van.

The drive to David's apartment was long and awkward. Kendall just glowered at David, Carlos sang under his breath and traced patterns into the window using his fingers and breath, and James, Logan and Mrs. Knight stayed silent, too nervous to say anything and set off the ticking, blonde time bomb that was Kendall in the backseat.

"Oh, we're here," Mrs. Knight announced, her voice slicing through the stuffy air like an overly-cheery knife. "Isn't this a nice apartment, boys? Look, they even have a pool."

"It's not the Palmwoods pool," Carlos commented softly, sadness shining in his chocolate eyes. Kendall rubbed his back in sympathy, carefully avoiding his healing burns.

"It's ok Carlos, we'll be back soon," Logan assured the younger boy. Carlos gave a half-hearted nod. Mrs. Knight showed them to their new bedroom. It was way too tiny. 2 bunk beds were set up across from each other against the walls, so close together that whoever slept on the top bunk could easily high-five the opposite bunk's occupant. Between the bunk beds was a tall, 6-drawer wooden dresser. The room was equipped with one tiny closet, and nothing else.

The boys just stood in shock at the cramped space. There was no way they could live like this. They immediately opened their mouths to complain, but the depressed look in Mrs. Knight's eyes made them quickly shut up.

"I know it's not much, boys. But we tried our best. We've been shopping non-stop for you kids. We managed, with Gustavo's help, to buy you all the necessities, like some clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo. It will take a couple of weeks, but pretty soon you'll have everything you need," Mrs. Knight said. Her heart broke when she saw how upset her boys looked. They stared at their new rooms with dewy eyes, longing for their old belongings and items of comfort. "Well, I'll leave you boys alone for a while." Mrs. Knight kissed Carlos' cheek and left them alone.

Logan collapsed on his bed and buried his face in his hands. He hated this. He wanted to keep hiding how much he hated this, but he wanted to go home. He didn't even have a desk. Where would he get his homework done, and do his experiments? His old room was practically a classroom, filled with books and projects. But all of that was gone now.

Carlos sat next to Logan and put his head on Logan's shoulder. James and Kendall joined them, grieving in comfortable silence. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

A few hours passed, and 7 people were squished at a tiny dining room table, eating take-out Chinese. Nobody really seemed to have much appetite, and most of the food was left untouched.

"I'm going to bed," Katie announced, pushing her food away and disappearing to her new, small room. Kendall wanted to go after her and ask if she was alright, but she had made it clear several times that day that she did not want to be bothered.

Carlos pushed his own food away and looked around the apartment, disappointed. There was no comfy orange couch, or dome hockey, or a swirly slide. It was all plain and dull, with one brown couch, a lazy chair, and an old-looking television with no video games hooked up to it. The house just seemed… Boring. What was he to do all day, without his pool and his lobby and Mr. Bitters to bother?

Carlos suddenly perked up a tiny bit, an idea forming in his head.

"Hey guys, let's go down to the lobby!" He said. Kendall started to disagree, but he considered agreeing when he realized it would be a lot better than staying in the apartment with David.

"Let's go," Kendall said, leading his friends down to an equally boring, stuffy old lobby. It was very small, not nearly big enough to pull off any shenanigans, and it was so quiet. There were no crazy actress's slapping people, or guitar players strumming away and singing about anything and everything. There were no cute new girls, or potential ghosts roaming the halls. There wasn't even a vending machine with fruit smackers. The only occupant was some old man wobbling past James.

"Get out of the way, sonny!" The old man said through his toothless frown, smacking the pretty boy in the shins with his wooden cane. "Darn kids…"

"Ow," James whimpered, rubbing his shins as the old man hobbled along to the elevator.

"Ha! You get served by an old guy," Carlos said, easily entertained. James glared at his best friend.

"I'll hit _you_ with a cane," James said. He went to jump on Carlos and squish him, but Logan held him back.

"Hold up! No rough-housing until our burns heal up, doctor's orders," Logan said.

"Don't you mean 'Doctor bossy Logie's orders'?" Carlos said.

"Fine, rough house all you want but don't come running to me when your blisters break open and ooze all kinds of stuff," Logan said. His 3 friends shuddered and gagged at the thought, and James and Carlos suddenly didn't find fighting so interesting anymore.

"Well this is heart crushing," James said with a sigh. He would rather deal with Mr. Bitter's stupid rules than this old guy. At least Mr. Bitter's didn't hit teenagers with canes.

"Come on, let's check out the pool," Kendall offered, hoping it would be better than this boring lobby.

The heart broken boys made their way to the pool area outside. It was nice… Sort of, but it lacked the lively, youthful energy that the Palmwoods had. And there were no cabanas, which was just depressing.

"Nobody is even here," Carlos muttered, sitting on a lounge chair. Sure it was 8 0' clock in the evening, but at the Palmwoods the pool was busy, even with Mr. Bitter's stupid 9 pm curfew rule. This place was just desolate. The pool seemed relatively unused. "Hmm, there are no ducky's," the Latino observed randomly.

"Ducky's?" James asked.

"Yeah, there are no ducky floaties, or pool noodles, or waterguns." Carlos heaved a sigh and rested his face in his knuckles.

"Come on, let's just go to bed," Logan said dejectedly. It was only depressing the guys even more to be reminded of their old, fun pool.

"Where are we going to ride tiny tricycles?" Carlos asked, getting to his feet and walking inside with his friends.

"I don't know buddy," Logan said.

"And there's nowhere for me to ride my rocket skates or play hockey."

"I know, sorry, Carlitos," Logan told the small Latino. "We'll make the best of it though. We've been through worse together."

"Um, no we haven't," Carlos and James said in unison, unable to think of anything worse than having their home burnt down.

"Yeah dude, we really haven't," Kendall said. "This takes the cake of sucky things to happen to us."

~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took the boys hours to fall asleep in their new beds that night. All of them shared the same hints of separation anxiety. They hated being away from home, although none of them would admit it to each other. They all pretended that they were sleeping until one by one they each fell asleep slowly, leaving Kendall alone with his thoughts.

The blonde rolled over in his lumpy bunk (after much fighting, he was stuck with the bottom bunk closest to the window, which brought in bright moonlight and a little bit of a cool draft) and punched his pillow with a heavy groan.

He missed home.

He liked his bed. He loved having Logan asleep in the bed next to him. Logan was quiet, and having him nearby was somewhat of a comfort.

But James and Carlos? They snored. Loudly. Every few seconds one of them was snorting. They formed their own annoying rhythm. When Carlos drew in a breath, James would let out a rough, snappy sounding snore. And as James brought in his breath, Carlos would let out a long, moan-y sounding snore, usually followed by a squeak of contentment.

_Well,_ Kendall thought,_ at least they were able to find some peace in their sleep._

Kendall, however, spent hours trying to fight off his thoughts, which fluctuated from angry ones directed at his father to sad, grieving ones. Several times tears welled up behind his eyes but he refused to let them spill. He was sick and tired of crying. He had cried more this week alone than he had in the past 5 years. It wasn't like him to feel so weak.

By around 3 am, Kendall finally started drifting to sleep, but it was interrupted by soft sniffles from the bottom bunk across from him, where Carlos lay awake under a pile of blankets. (Carlos was not allowed to sleep on the top bunks, they learned during childhood sleepovers that he always managed to flip over the railing and land on the ground face first with a wail of pain.)

"Carlos, what's wrong?" Kendall asked, rubbing away the groggy feeling in his eyes. Carlos moaned, but didn't answer. Kendall's heart dropped, afraid that his small friend wasn't feeling well. The blonde went to sit up, but cried out in pain when he felt a sharp pain radiate through his skull as his head collided with something solid. A tiny giggle could be heard form Carlos, who watched the scene in amusement. Kendall groaned, dazed and confused. Finally he realized that he had hit his head on the top bunk.

"Stupid top bunk," Kendall muttered, making his way across the unfamiliar room. He lied down next to Carlos and draped an arm across his shoulders. "What happened, 'Litos?"

"I had a nightmare and I want to go home," Carlos whined, turning on his side and burying his face in Kendall's neck.

"I know buddy, me too," Kendall said with understanding. He jumped slightly when Carlos let out a sob, his tiny body shaking harshly.

"Hey, what's going on?" James asked, climbing down from the top bunk. He crawled into the tight space with Carlos and Kendall and ran his fingers through Carlos' messy black spikes of hair.

"He had a nightmare," Kendall explained. "Ssh, Carlos it's alright buddy. We're here now."

"I'm scared," Carlos admitted. "What if there's another fire?"

"That's not going to happen, Carlitos," Logan said with a yawn. He shimmied into bed with his best friends. It was a tight squeeze but they maneuvered a bit and he kind of sunk right in between James' feet and the end of the bunk. "Mama Knight said it was an electrical fire, faulty wiring or something. That kind of thing is rare. It won't happen again. Besides, Mama Knight said she is making David put new batteries in all of the smoke detectors… James, are you crying?"

James sniffled and wiped away the tears trickling down his cheek. "Maybe…" He felt stupid, but he wanted all his things back, and his nice comfy bed.

"You can tell us," Carlos said encouragingly, patting James' back.

"I want to go home, too," James said tearfully. "I don't like it here. I want my Cuda products, and my… My lucky comb, and all of my clothes. It's all gone guys."

"What are we going to do?" Carlos whimpered. "We lost _everything."_

"That's not true, Carlos. We didn't lose everything," Kendall said sternly, taking control of his "Leader" role. "We lost a lot in that fire, but we didn't lose each other. We… We almost did. But we got through it."

James nodded. "If it wasn't for you, we would be dead, Kendall."

Kendall blushed. His buddies kept reminding him of his actions that fateful night, but for some reason, he still felt guilty that they had to go through something so horrific.

"Can we promise something?" Logan asked in a small voice. All heads turned to the small brunette cowered against Kendall. "No matter what, through this crazy stuff, we will stick together?"

"Of course," Kendall said quickly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to us, ok? I'll be watching out for us. Nothing is going to tear us apart." Kendall watched as his younger friends nodded solemnly.

"Is it ok to cry?" Carlos asked, obviously having a hard time keeping his tears in. What Kendall said made sense. Everything else was trivial when it came down to each other. They could have died, and that thought made him sick to his stomach. But he still missed his home and he was still scared to death. He just wanted to cry.

'Yeah, it's ok to cry," Kendall said. They all huddled together and let their tears flow freely, their bodies shaking against each other's as they tried to make sense of the past few days and force the images of the hot, deadly orange flames out of their mind until they fell asleep in a tangled heap of hiccups and snores, and even in their sleep they continued to cry.

**A/N Meep I wanted this to be longer, but I have to go babysit. Even though it's midnight. Woot woot. I am tired. Please review? :D :D**


	12. AssFaceDavid

**A/N *Hangs head in shame* I know, I am terrible about updating! But I love you all! Thanks so much for every single review, favorite, alert and read! Makes me so happy! **

"Are you guys ready?" Kendall asked softly, sympathetically. He stole a glance at his younger friends. Their nervous, shaking bodies were huddled around his side, desperate for his support and leadership. Carlos, surprisingly, was the first to nod with as much bravery as he could possibly muster. He looked up at Kendall with scared brown eyes, still puffy and red-rimmed from the endless crying the 4 boys had endured together the night before. Well, just a few hours earlier actually. It was now mid-morning and they stood at the charred wooden door that read "2J," waiting for Kendall to push open the door to reveal the remains of what was once their home.

Kendall didn't have the heart to do it. His hand gripped the handle, but he made no move to twist it. He didn't want to see this. His home had meant everything to him, and he knew just as well as his friends did that there would be nothing left inside but a sickeningly ashy mess.

Kendall felt a warm weight lay on his hand, and he looked up to see Logan staring at him patiently, his small hand atop Kendall's larger one. James placed his hand on top of Logan's and squeezed gently, reassuring them silently to go when they were ready.

"We can do this," Carlos whispered, laying his pudgy tan hand on James'. The 4 boys stared at their hands piled on top of each other. Together, they took a deep, steadying breath and pushed the door open in unison.

That breath was taken away harshly, as if someone had punched them in the stomachs, when they took in the sight of their once colorful and lively apartment in tattered, gloomy ruins. They stood motionless, tears welling up and burning behind their already swollen eyes.

"I-I don't even recognize it in here," Logan said mournfully, taking the first step inside what used to be his home. He looked back at his friends nervously, and Kendall quickly stepped forward and put a comforting arm around the smaller boy's quaking shoulders. The quartet slowly stumbled through the living room. They couldn't even see the floor beneath them, as it was covered in blackened fabrics and plastic and furniture. The air was still heavy with smoke, and it irritated their still sensitive throats and lungs.

"I can't believe we survived this," Kendall said somberly, stepping around what used to be a skateboard. It was terrifying to look at the after effects and think about what could have been. They had almost _died _in here. It made Kendall sick to his stomach. He walked past the very spot that he had nearly given up at on that fateful night, the spot where he held a lifeless and dying Logan in his arms while Carlos and James had begged him to save them. Kendall closed his eyes and bit his lip at the horrifying memory.

"Hey, you ok?" James asked softly, brushing Kendall's arms with his fingertips. Kendall twitched, a bit startled, but quickly composed himself.

"Yeah, just… Memories, you know?" Kendall said lightly. James nodded, seeming to read the blonde's tortured mind.

"We survived it because of _you_, Kendall. You had a lot of responsibility shoved on your shoulders, and you took it like a soldier," James said, his voice surprisingly strong and sure of himself. "You know that, right?"

Kendall nodded and wiped away a few fast-falling tears off his cheeks. James patted his cheek. The brunette was proud of his buddy, his older brother, and he knew that Kendall was the only reason why they were still alive. Their sweet moment was interrupted, however, by Carlos and Logan's pained shouts.

"Swirly!" Carlos cried out, charging towards a pile of melted plastic. If you looked closely, you could tell the tubes used to be yellow but was now mostly black.

"Carlos, be careful!" Logan cried heeding Mrs. Knight's warning that it was still a bit dangerous inside of the apartment, as the flooring was weakened and there could still be glass that the firemen had missed during their attempts at cleaning the place up.

"No, swirly! It's gone!" Carlos cried, his shocked voice breaking the hearts of his older friends.

"It's ok Carlos," Logan said, reaching out to rub his back, but Carlos ignored him. The Latino wore a look of horror on his baby features, inwardly realizing something. If swirly was melted, than that meant…

No. It couldn't be. It just… _Couldn't_. Carlos continued to ignore Logan's warns and ran to his bedroom, searching frantically for his most prized possession, the beautiful black hunk of plastic that his Papi had given him so many years ago.

"Carlitos!" Kendall shouted, following the overwrought boy into what used to be his beloved bedroom with Logan and James right behind him. All they could do was watch helplessly as Carlos dug through a pile of rubbish only pull out a disgustingly contorted mess of plastic. It happened. His helmet had melted into absolutely nothing.

"Oh, God," James said, putting a fist over his mouth to hold back a small sob. He couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand to watch Carlos like this. The little Latino was momentarily shocked, cradling the melted helmet in his shaking fingers. His pale lower lip trembled, and after several agonizing seconds, the young boy could not take it anymore. He broke into bone-shuddering sobs as he curled in on himself. He crossed his arms over his aching stomach and folded over his knees so that his forehead rested on the blackened carpeting, and he just cried. He didn't care how childish he may have looked or sounded. He was numb to everything but the fact that his home and his helmet were gone.

"This was a bad idea," Logan growled, rubbing his forehead in distress. He sighed and kneeled beside Carlos so he could scoop the smaller boy into his nurturing arms. James and Kendall joined them, wrapping each other into a warm hug with Carlos' shaking body nestled in the middle.

Mrs. Knight found her boys huddled into a tight ball in the middle of Carlos' messy, ashy bedroom. They all cried hard, yet James, Kendall and Logan spoke words of comfort to Carlos, who seemed the most upset out of all of them.

"Oh, boys… What happened?" Mrs. Knight asked, rushing over to her boys and cupping Carlos' flushed cheek in her hand. Carlos sniffled loudly and handed his surrogate mother his precious hunk of melted plastic before letting out another round of sobs. Mrs. Knight nodded with understanding and set the helmet aside.

"Honey, I'm so sorry," she said, taking Carlos into her arms and squeezing him tightly. She kissed his tears off his round cheeks and took his hand so she could lead her children away from the devastating sight around them. "Come on boys, this is no place for you to be."

The other 3 nodded solemnly and followed Mrs. Knight out of the Palmwoods. As soon as they walked down to the lobby they were bombarded with words of pity and sympathy, but they just nodded their "Thanks" and briskly walked away, not in the mood to speak with anyone right now. They ignored the van Mrs. Knight had waiting for them and instead walked to the Palmwoods Park, finding a secluded spot surrounded by trees to rest in.

James sat down on the crispy leaves covering the bed of grass and pulled his knees to his chest, running a hand through his auburn locks with shaky hands. He had seen it for himself, it was all gone. There was nothing left. It was the confirmation he could have done without, because for the past couple of nights he had been fooling himself that maybe the small apartment was still salvageable, maybe some clean up and it would be good as new. But no, everything was gone and it would take months to rebuild.

"That was scary," Carlos squeaked. The 3 older boys turned their attention to the small, sniffling Latino.

"I know buddy. I'm sorry about Helmet, too," Logan said. "I know how much it…" Carlos gave Logan an offended look and Logan quickly cleared his throat. "…I mean "He" meant to you. You ok?"

Carlos shook his head no, surprising his protective friends. There was a tangled fury of arms as they all reached out to comfort the young boy with shoulder pat's and back rubs.

"What's wrong?" James asked, pulling Carlos into his huge arms and holding him tightly.

"I wanna go home. But we don't even have a home anymore," Carlos whined, his voice slightly muffled as he tried to speak with his cheek smooshed against James' broad chest.

"That's not true!" Kendall argued, taking Carlos from James and holding him firmly by the shoulders so he could look the Latino straight into his wet brown eyes. "Carlos, your home is wherever James, Logan and I are to protect you, ok? That goes for you guys, too." Kendall cut his emerald gaze to James and Logan. "Home is wherever we are together. I don't care if it's a cardboard box or Ass-Face-David's house. All we need is each other."

Carlos' eyes welled up once again by Kendall's speech and he threw himself into the blonde's waiting arms, burying his face in his warm neck. Again, the boys formed their protective circle and held each other. They stayed in the park for the next few hours. Time flew by as they lay on the grass with their heads together, the soft blades tickling their skin. They talked about nothing and everything until Logan finally sat up and looked up at the low sun in the sky.

"Guys, it's getting late. We should probably head home," the young genius announced. He pulled Carlos to his feet and James and Kendall followed. They walked to their new apartment together, where Mrs. Knight and David were seated at the kitchen table.

"Hi mama," Kendall said, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the table.

"Hey, baby," Mrs. Knight greeted warmly. She gave her 4 sons a peck on the cheek and instructed them to wash up for dinner. But as they headed for the bathroom, David stood up and intercepted them.

"Now wait a minute," he said, holding up his hands. James, Carlos and Logan glanced at Kendall nervously. David looked kind of mean at the moment. "You boys ran off without even telling your mother where you were going. You worried us half to death."

Kendall scoffed, and David gave him a warning look.

"Oh, David it's ok. I knew the boys were just going to go to the park, that's where they always go when something is bothering them. As long as they are home before dark it's ok, which they were," Mrs. Knight said, defending her children. Logan nodded eagerly to convince the large, mean man in front of him. David narrowed his gaze at Kendall, and the blonde arched his eyebrows, silently daring him to start a conflict.

"I'm going to go run and get dinner," Mrs. Knight said, oblivious to the war that was brewing in front of her. "Don't be too hard on the boys, David. They just lost their home. Of course they are going to be upset. Bye boys, I will be home in 20 minutes."

David let Mrs. Knight leave before he spoke again. "Maybe I should lay down some rules," he said in a strict, booming voice. Logan jumped and hid behind Kendall. "If you boys want to live in my home, you need to act like men. There will be no goofing off or talking back. I expect you to keep the apartment spotless, and you are to make your whereabouts known every day. If you fail to follow any of my orders or rules, I will look at is as you are directly disobeying and children who disobey me get punished. I spent 5 years serving in the military so I don't take the crap your parents are used to. Now your mother might be ok with you running off today but I am not. I'm going to go easy on you today. Carlos, you are to do the dishes, Kendall, you are to vacuum. James and Logan, you are both to clean the bathroom. I want the duties I gave you to be done by the time your mother comes home, understood?"

Carlos, and James and Logan nodded while Kendall just glowered.

"Say 'Yes Sir,'" David barked, and 4 tiny "Yes Sirs!" could be heard throughout the kitchen.

"Alright, dismissed," David said, waving his hand lazily at them. The boys looked at each other, bewildered, than dispersed to the areas they were expected to clean.

"Kendall's dad is kind of mean," Logan whispered to James while they worked on cleaning the shower together.

"I know," James agreed in a strained voice. Logan noticed how uncomfortable James sounded and looked at him, concerned.

"You alright, dude?"

"Yeah, my arm and my back is just hurting me, because of my burns," James said. Logan scowled, feeling angry at David. They were in no condition to be cleaning the lazy man's house for him, they were still healing from their injuries and if they were to burst open their blisters, infections could occur.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" James asked after Logan threw down his scrub brush and headed for the bathroom door.

"I am going to tell David that we can't be doing this right now, it's stupid. Mama Knight didn't even punish us."

"Wait- you're going to tell David off?" James asked, completely taken aback. "But he's big, with muscles! Lots of muscles!"

"So? What's he going to do to me?" Logan asked, surprisingly confident. Hey, if he could take on Ozzie, he could take on some old guy… Right?

Logan waved to James and stomped to David's bedroom. He knocked brusquely and crossed his arms, waiting for David to open the door.

"Yes, Logan?" David asked, his voice void of all the anger from earlier. Logan suddenly felt 2 feet tall and about as weak as he craned his neck to look up at the man.

"Um, well you see… James is still hurt from the fire and so are Carlos and Kendall and I have an extensive background of medical knowledge," Logan said, trying to keep his shaky voice sounding professional. "And I don't think they should be exerting themselves at the moment. Mrs. Knight said nothing about punishment and I think she would be disagreeing with you if she were here."

David smiled, but the simple action made Logan feel uneasy. "Logan, your mother isn't here. I am in charge. And I suggest you get back to work and clean the bathroom."

"But David, they are hurt," Logan said meekly. "If their wounds break open, they could become severely infected. Burns are nothing to mess with-"

"Logan, come in here," David said, his voice eerily calm. He stepped aside and pulled Logan inside the room, than closed the door behind him.

"Ermmm," Logan mumbled, his eyes darting around the room apprehensively.

"Logan, didn't I just finish telling you that I don't take talking back?" David asked, and Logan nodded timidly. He glanced at the door, wondering if it was at all possible to make an escape and run back to the safety of James' presence.

"Say 'Yes Sir'!" David snapped, and Logan obliged.

"Yes, Sir. May I please go back to my friends and continue cleaning now?"

"No, Logan. You disobeyed me. What did I tell you would happen if you disobeyed me?"

Logan's heart skipped a beat at David's creepy-calm tone. He remembered clearly. He would be _punished._ But what exactly had he meant by that? Logan didn't want to find out.

"Answer me, Logan!"

"I would be punished," Logan said in a breaking voice. He didn't want to be punished. Outside of the occasional grounding, Mrs. Knight and his own mother never punished him. They never needed too, he was an angel child. They told him that all the time.

"That's right," David said, unbuckling his belt. Logan felt a surge of fear run up his spine. Was he really about to… _Belt _him?

"What are you going to do?' Logan asked. Tears pooled behind his scared, puppy dog eyes. He had never once in his life been spanked before, and he was most certainly not going to let some man who wasn't even his father belt him.

"Take off your jeans and lay on the bed," David said. "If you say a word, you are going to get a dozen more lashes. So I suggest you lay down quietly and without question and bite onto a pillow if you have to."

Logan's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't know what to do. Should he let the man beat him, or should he call out for Kendall? Of course, his first reaction was to cry for his older brother, and before he could catch himself, he called Kendall's name for help.

"You little shit," David growled, locking the door just in case Kendall heard, than pushed the tiny boy onto the bed. He pulled Logan's jeans down his skinny pale legs, leaving him in nothing but his red and blue plaid boxers.

"Please don't hurt me," Logan said, struggling to sit up.

"Shut up, there is no talking back in my home. You will not disobey me," David said, easily holding the teenager down. Logan gave up and started crying, burying his face into the blanket and waiting for his punishment.

Even though he was expecting it, the first lash caused Logan to scream in pain. The belt was brought down several more times on Logan's barely covered sensitive flesh. At one point, he could feel his skin breaking, followed by a warm liquid trickling down his thigh. Logan wanted to plead for David to stop, but he knew that if he opened his mouth, he would only receive more lashes. He was vaguely aware that someone was pounding on the door and yelling his name during his beating. Finally, the sharp stings of leather against skin ceased. Logan let out a sob, completely humiliated and frightened.

"Put on your jeans and look at me," David told him, his voice full of disgust. Logan took in a shuddering breath and did as he was told.

"Tell me you're sorry, Logie," David said, his voice changing from angry to soft almost instantaneously as he cupped Logan's quivering chin in his giant hand.

"I-I'm sorry David," Logan said. The man leaned over the small boy's body and got close to his ear.

"No sweetheart, my name's not David, I'm 'daddy.' Understand me?"

Logan nodded, wishing more than anything that he could just escape from the bedroom. David hauled him to his feet and dragged him by the collar to the door.

"Go straight to your room," David said, opening the door wide enough to shove Logan out into the hall, than closed and locked the door.

"Logan, what just happened?" Kendall demanded when Logan landed in his arms. Logan sniffled and avoided Kendall's brotherly gaze. He was so embarrassed. How was he to tell his teenaged brothers that he had just been spanked?

"Nothing," Logan said tearfully, than ran to his room and curled up in his bed. Carlos, James and Kendall crowded around him, and he felt a comforting hand run through his hair repetitively, trying to calm him down.

"What did he do to you, Logie? You can tell me. I'm your big brother," Kendall said.

"He just… Yelled at me," Logan lied feebly, and his friends saw right through it.

"You sound like you're in pain," James said. "What happened, baby bro?"

Logan sobbed dryly and turned to look at his friends, chocolate eyes filled with fear and shame. He could barely believe it. He had been spanked by some strange man for no real reason at all, other than the fact that he was looking out for his friends' wellbeing.

"Logan… Did… Did he hurt you?" Carlos asked, studying the dark spots on the blue fabric covering Logan's thighs.

"No!" Logan lied again. Kendall caught Logan's face in his hands and looked him in the eyes.

"Tell me, Logie. Did he touch you?" Kendall asked, trying to keep his seething anger from entering his concerned and gentle voice. He did not want to scare Logan any further.

"Y-yes," Logan said. He couldn't lie to Kendall, it made him feel wrong and icky. "He belted me… He belted me like, 15 times. It hurt, Kendall!"

"It's ok, buddy. I gotcha…" Kendall said, holding Logan and rocking him gently.

"He spanked you?" James asked incredulously, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"I think you're bleeding," Carlos pointed out, touching the back of Logan's thigh.

Kendall looked over Logan's spikey black hair to see the dark spots on his jeans. He mumbled a curse word under his breath and ushered the trembling boy into the bathroom, where he wetted down a washcloth.

"Can I see?" Kendall asked. Logan turned a bright red, his cheeks resembling 2 small tomatoes.

"Kendall…"

"Please? Just let me look for a moment, bro."

Logan nodded and pulled his jeans down to his knees. He could feel his face flushing even further when he felt Kendall's concerned fingers ghost over his broken skin.

"Oh my God Logan, he really did a number on you bro," Kendall whispered. Logan's thighs were purple and blue and bleeding in several different places. This was not your typical spanking. This was outright… _Abuse. _David had to have used all his strength to leave these kind of ugly marks on the boy.

"Gah, it hurts Kendall," Logan whimpered, hissing when the blonde pressed the washcloth to his legs. Kendall was trying to be as gentle as possible, but he was hurt pretty badly and there wasn't much he could do to avoid making the poor boy wince.

"Why did your dad hurt me?" Logan asked innocently. Kendall sighed and pulled up Logan's jeans before bringing him into a warm hug.

"Because he's a terrible person, Logan," Kendall said, pressing his younger brother's face into his chest and knotting his fingers into his soft spikes of hair. He felt so incredibly guilty. This was what he wanted to avoid, David hurting his friends. It was one thing for David to beat Kendall, but it was unacceptable for him to lay a hand on any of his friends. "And don't worry buddy, we aren't staying here any longer, ok?"

"But where are we going to go?" Logan asked, his eyes filled with trust. Kendall sighed, rubbing his forehead. They depended on him so _much._ And he was going to do everything he could to protect them.

**A/N Oh snap. I love you guys! Please review? **


	13. Running

**A/N Thanks so much for all the reviews and reads! Over 20 reviews for the last chapter, guys… That is amazing! Please keep them coming I loveth it! How much do we hate David now? Are ya'll ready to hate him even more? **

**The result of a convo with the lovely country peach: Sing to the tune of "ice ice baby": "Ass Face David, dun dun dun duhduhduh dun" rofl.**

"Hey Logie, how's your butt?"

Logan groaned, blushing as pink as a pomegranate when Carlos asked the embarrassing question for the 10th time that day. And it was only 8 AM.

"For the millionth time, Carlos, my butt is fine. Please stop asking me," Logan said as nicely as he could.

"But I'm worried about it, Logie."

"Well stop worrying about my butt. It's weird, Carlos."

James sighed and put his hands over his ears. He was caught in the middle of Carlos and Logan's odd little quarrel and it was way too early to him to listen to the annoying quips.

"Kendall, remind me why we are here so early," James whined. "Gustavo isn't even here yet."

"Because I have something important to ask him," Kendall said distractedly as he spun in his chair outside of the sound booth.

Logan quit arguing with Carlos, who was now asking him if he needed a butt-bandaid, at Kendall's words. Ever since the little incident last night, the blonde had been acting very strange. He became extremely quiet and sullen, as if he was deep in thought. He had brought them some food when his mother arrived home and refused to let them leave the tiny bedroom for anything except bathroom breaks, and at 7 AM he woke them up and dragged them to the studio hours before they were even supposed to be there.

"Kendall, can you at least tell us what you're thinking?" Logan pleaded.

"Yeah, we want in on this," James said. "I know you have a plan brewing underneath that blonde helmet-hair."

Kendall's head suddenly snapped up in mock offense. "Hey, I do not have-Oh… Oh no, James!" Kendall cringed when Carlos suddenly burst into tears at the mere mention of a helmet. The young teenager threw himself on James' chest and started sobbing and slobbering all over it his shirt.

"This is worse than cheesefry girl," Logan said, patting Carlos' shuddering back. "It's ok buddy… Let it out."

Kendall sighed and ran a hand over his face, surprised at how over-heated his skin felt. The past few days he could quite literally feel his blood pressure raising. David had gone too far last night. That wasn't just a spanking, it was outright abuse. He gave Logan deep bruises and made him bleed. David had _whipped _his little brother. It was absolutely sickening. And there was no possible way it was happening again. If his mom wanted to be blind and stay with him, fine. But Kendall was going on 18. He could do what he wanted… Basically. And he wasn't going to let his little brothers or his little sister stay there one more day.

"Dogs! What are you doing in my studio so early?" Gustavo exclaimed as he barged into the small room, finding his boy band sprawled out around the soundboard. Carlos was crying and James was comforting him, Logan looked overwhelmed, and Kendall seemed angry.

"Sorry Gustavo," Kendall said. Gustavo raised his eyebrows at his most defiant dog's soft apology. "I just need to speak to you about something."

"Um, ok…" Gustavo said, wrinkling his nose at a tearful, hiccupping Carlos. "Did Carlos lose cheesefry girl again?"

"No, he lost his helmet," Logan whispered out of Carlos' ear-reach as to not upset the boy all over again.

"Oookay. Kendall, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Can we take this out there?" Kendall proposed. Gustavo nodded, a little worried now. His dogs were acting extremely out of character, especially Kendall. And when did James get so quiet?

"I'll be right back boys, just wait here," Kendall instructed, than put his hand awkwardly on Gustavo's shoulder and let him to the break room.

"What's going on, Kendall? You dogs are freaking me out," Gustavo said.

Kendall sat down and put his face in his hands, praying he would receive the answer he needed. "Gustavo, would it be ok if…" The blonde cleared his throat and looked his record producer deeply in the eyes. "Can we stay in your mansion for a while, me and the boys and Katie?"

Gustavo thought for a second, confused, and Kendall's stomach started to hurt at his delayed answer. He just knew it was going to be a "no."

"Well, yeah," Gustavo said, taking Kendall by surprise. "What made you change your mind?"

"Oh my God, thank- wait… What?" Kendall asked, twisting his eyebrow in confusion.

"I asked your father if you boys wanted to stay here and he said you declined," Gustavo said, slightly alarmed by how red Kendall's usually pale face got. The boy sucked in a deep, shocked breath, trying to take in the surprising news. He was outraged. Had David made the decision to keep them at his apartment without even asking them first? Who the hell did he think he was to make that kind of decision for Kendall and his friends? They were nearly adults.

"That man, he's not my father," Kendall said in an unsteady voice. He wanted to go straight back to the apartment and confront David, but he knew better than to let his anger take over this time. He would have to control himself if he wanted his way. "S-so that's a yes than, we can stay?"

Gustavo nodded slowly. "Of course, I mean you dogs let me stay with you when I needed it. Kendall, is everything ok at home?" The record producer asked awkwardly. He wasn't used to showing concern, or ever even having to show it. But something seemed very wrong with this whole "Dad" situation.

Kendall seemed spaced out for a second, than nodded. "Um, yeah, it's fine. Thanks Gustavo."

Gustavo stared at Kendall's red, contorted features. Over the past year he had spent pretty much 24/7 with his dogs, and he knew their personalities by heart. Kendall was never this worried over anything, and over the past few days he had been acting very spooked.

"Kendall, what's going on with your dad, dude. You can tell me."

Kendall looked up at Gustavo at the sincerity in the usually tyrannical producer's voice. There wasn't a hint of the previous awkwardness anymore, replaced only with blunt concern. He knew something was wrong and he wanted to help, and Kendall wanted to let him. But how was he supposed to tell him that his abusive father was back and now abusing his friends? It wasn't that easy. Especially when all Kendall could see was the shiny black metal of the handgun his own father had threatened him with.

"I know all about dead beat fathers, Kendall," Gustavo said softly when the blonde stayed silent. "You and the dogs can stay with me as long as you need to."

Kendall sighed gratefully. "Thanks Gustavo."

Gustavo nodded. But when Kendall smiled in relief and turned to go back to the studio, Gustavo caught his arm with a beefy hand.

"Wait, you said Katie, too?"

Kendall stiffened and nodded. "Yes, is that ok?"

"No, it's not ok," Gustavo said, sounding like his normally angry self, and he didn't miss the way Kendall uncharacteristically flinched away, as if he was afraid the sting of a hand would come along with his loud words. "I know you, dog. You're all about protecting family. You wouldn't take Katie with you unless there was something at home you were protecting her from. Or should I say 'somebody'?" Gustavo's voice softened when Kendall's big green eyes grew moist and sparkled with unshed tears. "Just tell me, dog. Say the word and I'll take care of it for you."

To Gustavo's dismay, Kendall averted his gaze back to the shaggy carpeting and backed away from him. "There's nothing to take care of Gustavo. Everything's fine."

Gustavo sighed, his patience thinning and his concern growing. "Ok. Go tell the dogs to warm up and we'll work on a couple songs. I'll get the guest room ready and you dogs and Katie can stay in there tonight."

Kendall mumbled an agreement and nearly stumbled over his own shoes in his attempt to get away from the suddenly tense room. He dragged his friends into the sound booth and handed them their headphones.

"Wait, whoa, aren't you going to tell us what's going on?" Logan asked when Kendall shoved his headphones onto his ears, ignoring his friends.

"Kendall! It's no fair that you get to know something and we don't," Carlos said, ripping off Kendall's headphones.

"I'll tell you later," Kendall hissed. "Let's just focus on our work for now."

"But Kendall," Carlos whined. He hated being kept in the dark from what he liked to call "grown-up things," even though Kendall wasn't that much older than he was.

"Carlos! Put on your headphones and sing," Kendall snapped, glaring at the young boy beside him. He did not have the patience to deal with his constant nagging and whining, he had way too much on his mind at the moment.

Carlos' voice caught in his throat, shocked that Kendall had just outright yelled at him. James and Logan seemed speechless as well, and Gustavo broke the awkward silence by yelling into the microphone for them to start warming up.

"I really want to know what's going on," Carlos whined after a full day of recording and rehearsing. He, James and Logan were in the break room eating microwaved pizza rolls for dinner while Kendall was off doing who knows what.

"I don't know but something seems fishy," James said, pulling his pizza roll apart so cheese stretched and oozed out of the center. He yelped when the hot filling burned his fingertips and quickly shoveled the snack into his mouth. "I mean, did you see the way Gustavo kept looking at us, like we were broken or something?"

"Yeah, and he and Kendall seemed to be having some kind of psychic conversation between each other with their eyes," Carlos put in before stuffing his mouth with 3 pizza rolls.

Logan uncapped a cold bottle of water and took a long, greedy sip to soothe his parched throat. "I'm sure whatever it is, Kendall can handle it. He always knows what's best for us after all."

James shook his head. "Yeah but once in a while we want in on the action! He always tries to handle everything by himself. He never stops to think that maybe we can help."

"Maybe that's because every time we try to help we end up ruining his plan," Logan said, trying to defend his older brother best he could. He didn't want Carlos and James meddling this time. Kendall seemed ready to come off of his hinges and he did not want the 2 youngest to be caught in the middle of that imminent catastrophe. It would be better for all of them if they just stayed out of it.

"You _always_ take Kendall's side!" Carlos complained, throwing a pizza roll onto his paper plate with such force that it burst open and splurted sauce all over the table. Logan scowled and cleaned up the mess with his napkin.

"That is not true, Carlitos," Logan said, though it really was the truth. The young genius would choose too trust Kendall over the other 2 any day.

"Guys, come on let's get going," Kendall said emotionally from the doorway, startling the 3 bickering boys.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Carlos asked, gesturing to the pile of pizza rolls that remained untouched on his plate.

"I'm not hungry," Kendall said, outstretching his arm and waving them towards him. "Come on guys."

The boys shrugged at each other and chugged the rest of their drinks before throwing their plates away and following Kendall out to the BTRMobile. Kendall drove them back to the apartment, but when they went to tear off their safety belts, he grabbed their wrists to stop them.

"Wait, you guys stay here," the blonde instructed.

"But why? I need to pee," Carlos said.

"Hold it," Kendall said blandly. "I'll be right back, I have to grab a few things."

"Kendall, where are we going?" James asked, confused.

"You'll see. Just stay here for me, please?" Kendall looked at his friends pleadingly. Their heart's dropped when they saw the desperate look in his eyes.

"Ok, we'll stay here," Logan said, hoping Kendall would share his plan before they all went insane with anxiety, and he watched Kendall run out of the small car and up to their new apartment.

Kendall stormed through the door with purpose, pleased to see that David and his mother were apparently out on another date. He was surprised by how little he cared that they were dating. He was unusually upset with his mother, appalled, really. He could not believe she would stay with such a man, but he had to remind himself that his mom had no idea what David was capable of. She was completely disillusioned and that's the way he wanted it to stay.

"Katie, pack up your things and come with me," Kendall said, peeking his head into his little sister's bedroom.

"Um, what?" Katie asked, taken aback. Kendall sighed.

"Katie, I love you but I can't explain right now. Just pack up a bag, please."

Katie got rolled off her bed and put her book down. "Is everything ok big bro?"

"It's fine, we are just leaving for a little while," Kendall said.

"Leaving? But we just got here," Katie said. "Where's mom, is she waiting in the car?"

Kendall closed his eyes for a moment and sighed again before coming forward and wrapping his lanky arms around Katie's tiny frame. "Mom doesn't know, Katie. We are going to stay with Gustavo. He offered us a place to stay and David didn't even tell us. I don't want to let you guys stay here another day. David has problems, baby sister."

Katie looked up at Kendall with huge, doe-like brown eyes, and he was reminded just how innocent she still truly was. "What do you mean big brother?" Katie knew that David was a creeper, but Kendall was acting as if he was scared of David right now, and her brother _never_ got scared. It was one of the many things she loved most about him. Being his little sister and looking up to him so much, any emotion he felt wore off on her. The only reason why she was so strong and independent was because _he _was so strong and independent.

"He hit Logan last night," Kendall choked out, as if it was painful for him to admit. Katie gasped.

"What? David hit Logan? How? Why would he hurt Logan-"

"I don't know Katie," Kendall said, raising his voice so he could talk over her. "But he really hurt Logan. And it's not happening again. We're leaving. If mom finds out and truly wants us back, than she will get rid of that abusive… That abusive _bastard,"_ Kendall said spitefully. Katie flinched, unused to hearing that kind of language from him. "And I'll be damned if he lays a hand on you. So we are leaving. You have 5 minutes to pack." Kendall turned on his heel and headed to his own room to pack up bags filled with their very few belongings for the rest of the guys as well as himself, than slung the 2 lightweight bags over his shoulder and met Katie in the hallway.

"You ready baby sister?" Kendall asked. Katie nodded and reached out to hold Kendall's hand, something she had not done in ages, and they walked down to the car together.

"Finally, what took so long?" James demanded through the window when Kendall came into view. "Hey, what are those bags for?"

"We're leaving," Kendall said, slinging the bags into the trunk and then ushering Katie into the backseat beside Carlos.

"Leaving? Leaving to where?" Logan asked. Kendall got into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove off.

"Somewhere that we will be much happier," Kendall said.

"But where is that? Are we going to the Palmwoods?" Carlos asked, a hint of excitement coating his confused voice, but his shoulders slumped in disappointment when Kendall shook his head.

"No, we are staying with Gustavo. David failed to tell us that he offered us to stay in his mansion until we get back to the Palmwoods. I don't know who he thinks he is to make that kind of decision for us, as if we're children or something. But I'm not standing for it."

"Kendall, are you crazy?" Logan asked over James and Carlos' cheers that they get to live in a mansion filled with pudding. "What did mom say?"

"Mom doesn't know."

"She'll kill us!"

"How? She won't even know where we are," Kendall retorted bitterly. Logan looked at his older brother incredulously.

"Kendall we can't do that to her, she'll flip out with worry!"

"Like she cares!" Kendall yelled, causing the overlapping voices to cease and all eyes to focus on Kendall's quivering frame.

"Of course she cares," Logan whispered.

"No, she doesn't. She didn't care the first time and she doesn't care this time either. All she cares about is stupid, ass-face-David," Kendall spat, close to tears.

"What in the world does that mean?" Logan asked softly. Kendall gripped the steering wheel with nearly white knuckles.

"It doesn't matter, nothing matters," Kendall said, his voice calm and quiet. "I just… I had a talk with mom last night, asking her if we could just live in a hotel without David and she said no. I begged her, guys. And she didn't even care. So we are staying with Gustavo, somebody who does care. And he cares a lot. He just wants us to be safe and happy, like a _real_ father should."

"Oh," Carlos said dumbly. Logan winced, but he didn't really know how to react either. This was a first for everyone in the car. Kendall never acted like this before. He was never one to run away just to spite a parent. They had an unsettling feeling that something deeper was going on than they really knew.

**A/N Ooooh, what's gonna happen when David finds out they ran away? Stay tuned to find out! If ya wanna ;) I also cut out the talk Kendall and Mrs. Knight had the previous night, just because it was taking up too much boring space. Please review?**

**Ps, I'm working on the Mystery Of You holiday one shot now! I'm so excited! Keep your eyes open for it!**


	14. Kendall's Confession

**A/N EEK! Sorry, this isn't a new update! But apparently, Caitee (the girl with the impossible to spell name that looks something like akslalkjfblah lol) says FF won't let her read this chap! So I decided to try and re-upload it and hopefully she can read. Can you read it Caitee? So sorry if I tricked anyone I feel bad, but now Caitee or anyone else who couldn't read this might be able to now, I hope! Love ya'll!**

**Well, I could make a really long authors note filled with excuses and apologies as for why I have not updated BUT wouldn't you just much rather read the story? Thanks everyone so much for all of the reads and reviews I would not be writing this story without everyone's awesome feedback! **

**Hey and follow me on twitter if you wanna, Channy_Girl20 and I always follow back. **

Kendall drove up the circle drive in front of Gustavo's ornate mansion, his expression stony. He had been quiet the entire rest of the drive, even though Carlos, James, Logan and Katie had been full of questions that nipped annoyingly at his swarming, achy ears. Kendall felt this insatiable urge to cut himself off from the world for a bit, just lie in a dark room and close his eyes and ears and turn off all of his senses until the pounding in his brain faded away. It was hard to think when he was as nervous and stressed as he was.

Nobody made a move to speak or remove their seatbelts when Kendall put the cherry red car in park and just sat there silently for a few moments. Carlos glanced at Katie nervously, and she just shrugged. The Latino sighed and leaned forwards, so that his nose was at the driver's seat.

"Hey Kendall, are you sure this is a-"

"Just get out of the car and grab your bag, Carlos," Kendall said. His voice was calm but they all heard the fear in his unsteady voice. The blonde was second guessing his actions. He wondered if maybe it was such a good idea to have them all run away, because he knew that there would be hell to pay sooner or later for doing so.

Carlos obeyed Kendall's words like a puppy. He jumped in his seat and rolled over Katie's lap, spilling out of the car and onto the black asphalt driveway, than ran around to the trunk to pull out the few belongings that they still had.

Kendall turned off the engine and swung his legs out of the car and got to his feet, then slammed his door shut tersely, making James and Logan flinch. They followed suit and watched Kendall grab the bags from Carlos' hands (because the Latino seemed as if he was struggling a bit with the weight) and led the way up the windy sidewalk to the huge wooden front doors of Gustavo's multi-million dollar mansion.

"Aren't you going to um, knock?" Katie asked when Kendall stared blankly at the bronze lion door knocker.

"Oh, yeah," Kendall said. He cleared his throat, smiled a bit at his ineptness, and grabbed the handle that was the lion's mane and gave it a few rough swings. A moment later, one of the huge doors flew open with a creak revealing Gustavo's pudgy body in jeans and a flannel. He gave them all a sad smile, something none of them had ever seen before because he usually wore either an angry scowl or a goofy grin, and stepped aside for them to make their way in.

The large, dome foyer was filled with echoes of sneakers against marble as the 5 children slowly shuffled inside of the mansion. Even though they had spent the night there once before, their huge eyes lit up at the site of all the fancy architecture and the expensive belongings Gustavo owned. Carlos grinned when he saw his old friend, the odd statue placed right in the middle of the foyer. He ran up to it and gave it a hug, making Gustavo squeal and his face turn beet red. The record producer gently pried Carlos off his prized statue and placed him 10 feet away from the expensive statue.

"Yeah, nobody touch the statue!" Gustavo said loudly.

"Hey do you have some pudding? Can we have some?" Carlos asked enthusiastically, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet.

"And virtual golf, can we play that too?" James asked. "Ooh, and I am dying to take a bath in your clawfoot, gold lined tub again!"

"Guys!" Kendall said, putting his hand up to shush his friends. "Gustavo is letting us live here, show some respect. Tone it down a bit."

"It's ok Dog," Gustavo said, but his eyes turned dark when he realized something. 'Wait a minute! James, how do you know I have a 500,000 dollar tub lined in gold and what do you mean by 'again?'"

James cringed and looked at his feet, not wanting to admit he had snuck in a bubble bath in Gustavo's bathtub while he had mansion sat last time.

"Whatever," Gustavo said, waving his hands above his head. "Your bedroom is upstairs, down the hall and to the right. Katie your bedroom is across from theirs. Hope you like it. You guys can go get settled and I'll make you some snacks in 20 minutes." With that, the producer marched into his media room, leaving the 4 teenagers and young girl alone.

"Race you upstairs!" James yelled.

"No way!" Carlos cried, taking off after James. In the process he ran into Logan, who pouted and joined the meaningless competition while Kendall lagged behind, slowly walking up the staircase.

"You good big brother?" Katie asked, knowing that Kendall always joined a competition unless something was wrong.

"Yeah, I'm good baby sister," Kendall said, ruffling her hair. "You know, this will be fun, us living here. There wasn't enough room for us anyway at that apartment."

"Yeah, but there was mom," Katie said sadly. "And mom always said that no matter how small of a house we were in that it wouldn't matter as long as we were all together. Can't she stay with us, Kendall?"

"No, not this time baby sister, sorry," Kendall said bluntly. He put a hand on his sister's back and led her to her new bedroom, which was done with cream colored walls and bedding and dark wood furniture.

"Wow, it's pretty in here," the young girl breathed, looking around the cozy bedroom that was nothing less than extravagant. The curtains were cream colored silk with lace covering, the duvet was plush velvet, and there was even a crystal chandelier hanging high op on the ceiling. "This dude is richer than I thought."

"Do you like it?" Kendall asked hopefully, setting her belongings on her full-sized bed. When she nodded, he bent down so he could look her in the eyes easy.

"Are you sure? You will be comfortable living here for a while?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful, Kendall. I love it," Katie said truthfully, but the older brother detected the sadness in her voice.

"Think of this as like a vacation, ok? A really fun, extended vacation."

"That mom doesn't know about," Katie put in. Kendall sighed and ran a hand over his face. He hated acting behind his mother's back as much as she did. It just felt wrong.

"Kendall I trust you, I always do and always will," Katie said. "But I really hope you are right about this one. I'm gonna unpack now." The brunette gestured to her backpack, dismissing Kendall. The blonde nodded, feeling the weight of his friends' and sisters lives on his shoulders.

Just as Kendall closed Katie's door, he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. He reached in his pocket and pulled it out to read that he received a text message from his mother. He opened the message, which simply said "Hey honey, David and I just got home. You were supposed to be back from the studio an hour ago. Did you boys go out to dinner?"

Kendall's mouth went dry. Of course his mom would text him, wondering where he was and of course, she would be expecting a reply back. She had no idea that her entire family had run away.

Kendall stared at his cellphone, his mouth set in a straight, hard line as he contemplated what to do. He had never run away before. He always let his mother know where he was at all times because she was his mom. He had to let her know he was at least safe.

Kendall quickly wrote "The boys, Katie and I are safe. Don't worry about us. If you want us back, than David needs to go. Your choice." A couple seconds after he sent the message, his phone vibrated again but this time it was a phone call from his mother. Kendall pressed "silent" and put his phone back in his pocket, ignoring his mother.

Kendall took a deep breath and poked his head inside of his new, large bedroom, where James and Carlos were jumping from bed to bed, their bodies tumbling and flailing through the air while Logan wordlessly tried to unpack, dodging their flying limbs every once in a while.

"Hey guys, wanna check out those snacks Gustavo was talking about?" Kendall asked. Carlos and James immediately stopped jumping and looked up with interest. Kendall could have sworn he could see them drooling.

"Chocolate pudding?" Carlos asked hopefully.

"I don't know, let's go find out," Kendall said, trying to sound upbeat. James and Carlos cheered and ran out of the room to attack Gustavo's living room fridge, but Logan continued to half-heartedly fold clothes and stick them in the giant cherry wood dresser that they were all to share.

"Logan, don't you want some pudding and rich people snacks?" Kendall asked. Logan shrugged, not turning to look at his older brother.

"Hey, come on. Let's have some fun, buddy. We are living in a mansion!" Kendall said.

Logan finally turned around, dropping a button-up flannel to the floor. "But it feels wrong, Kendall! We ran away, dude. We're outlaws!"

"Logan, we aren't outlaws. I don't see the big deal. Gustavo offered us a place to stay and we took him up on it. It's mom's fault and David's fault that they didn't tell us."

"Shouldn't we talk to your mom, first?" Logan asked, his voice pleading. He wanted to trust Kendall, but he didn't want to get in trouble either. He had done some crazy stuff before, but running away was where he felt he should cross the line.

"I tried, she won't listen, Logie. I swear I tried," Kendall said. "She's obsessed with David now. Maybe this will get her to wake up." Kendall thought that Logan might give the argument up when the smaller boy seemed thoughtful for a moment, but the brunette sighed and shook his head.

"You are going to give her a heart attack, dude."

Kendall scowled at his younger brother. "Logan, he hurt you! He beat you raw last night!" The blonde exclaimed, his green eyes widening with anger at the memories. "I refuse to ever watch that happen again, and if we stay there he's only going to get worse. He'll hurt all of us, including Katie. He gets angry Logan, really angry. And it's one thing for him to hurt me but one of you guys? You're like my brother, man. I can't watch that."

Logan opened his mouth to argue, but faltered a moment at Kendall's blunt words. The blonde had just admitted something the he had been trying to keep secret, judging by the sudden uncomfortable look across his sharp features. "What do you mean by all that, Kendall? Has he… Has he hurt you before? Like he hurt me?"

Kendall held his breath and put his fingers to his temples. He couldn't hide it anymore, at least not from Logan. He slowly nodded and watched Logan's eyes fill up with fearful tears. He was expecting an explosion of questions to come from the brunette but instead he launched himself into Kendall's arms and held him tightly.

"Don't- don't tell the boys," Kendall said in a strangled voice. Logan let go of Kendall and nodded. He knew he needed Kendall's trust right now. The brunette reached forward and shut the door, than led Kendall to a nearby bed and sat him down, then sat next to him and put a small hand on his back for comfort, just to let Kendall know that he was there.

"Is that why you never talked about him after he… He left?" Logan asked, wondering how in the world a kid could hold in so much pain. Logan always knew that Kendall was strong, but now he was sure that he was way stronger than he ever let on.

Kendall nodded and put his hands on his knees. Logan could tell he was having a hard time keeping it together. He was remembering things, bad things that happened when he was so young.

Logan wrapped his arm around Kendall's broad shoulders and leaned into him. He closed his eyes when he felt wetness fill them. He wanted to cry for his big brother. But since Kendall was not crying, he refused to cry.

"I feel like a little kid again," Kendall said. His voice was weak and small, and he rested his cheek on Logan's soft brown hair. "I feel like I did when I was 6 years old. Always scared, and weak. Because I can't do anything about it. Dad always has and always will have power over me. I will never be stronger than him. He'll always be able to hurt me, Logan."

Logan's heart throbbed at Kendall's revelation. His best friend, his leader, was scared. His emerald eyes were no longer filled with confidence but were now timid and fearful. He looked like a small child again.

"He won't hurt you anymore, Kendall. I won't let him. James and Carlos and I, we'll put a stop to this."

"No," Kendall said, shaking his head vigorously. He fell backwards on the feathery-soft bed and put his face in his hands, staring at the ceiling between his fingers. "Logan, you can't. You can't protect me from this. I can't let you guys get hurt. Logan you have to promise me that it has to be like I never told you a thing. Everything I said, it stays in this room, ok?"

"But Kendall he-"

"Logan, promise me please! You have to promise me! You have no idea what my dad is capable of!" Kendall said forcefully. He sat up and looked into Logan's eyes, begging for sincerity. "Please, Logie."

Logan rubbed the back of his neck and winced, feeling a bit panicky. This whole thing was a mess. "Ok, ok Kendall. But if he tries to lay a hand on you-"

"Then it's my problem," Kendall cut in. Logan wanted to cry out in frustration. Why was Kendall so adamant about excepting help? He was like a toddler who refusing to let his mother help feed him. He would much rather spend twice the amount of time making a bigger mess than necessary trying to figure it out himself than let anyone just simply _help _him.

"Yeah, and what if he hurts me again?" Logan asked. Kendall growled and got to his feet, pacing around the room in anger.

"Then I'll_ kill_ him. He's never touching any of you ever again!" Kendall said, and Logan could tell he was dead serious.

"So why is he allowed to hurt you, but not me? Why would you let yourself get hurt when we can help you, but you'll risk your own safety for us? Why aren't we allowed to do the same for you?"

Kendall stopped pacing and stared at Logan as if the answer was obvious. "Because I'm the big brother, Logan. This conversation is over." With that, Kendall turned on his heel and exited the room.

Logan let out a small yell of frustration at his difficult friend. For all of one minute, Logan had succeeded in letting Kendall's guard down but as soon as Kendall had realized that, he had put it right back up again. But the brunette didn't care what Kendall had to say. He would respect his wishes to keep it a secret between just the 2 of them. But he knew the moment that David ever put another hand on Kendall, he would break his promise and he, Carlos and James would make David pay for hurting their big brother.

Logan joined his friends downstairs with a false smile on his face. James and Carlos greeted him enthusiastically with chocolate-pudding-grins, but Kendall didn't even look at him. The blonde looked almost guilty for telling Logan everything, so the brunette took a seat next to him at the kitchen table and squeezed his shoulder.

'It's ok," Logan whispered. Kendall nodded and gave a small smile, than handed Logan a pudding cup. Logan grinned and took it thankfully, suddenly very hungry, and the 4 boys enjoyed the rest of the evening eating pudding and terrorizing Gustavo in the media room.

By 10 PM, Kendall had received 5 text messages and 3 calls from his mother, all of which went ignored. The blonde turned his phone on silent and paid no attention to it. If his mother really cared about him and wanted him back, she would break up with David to get him to move back in. But first, he had to make her really worry first.

They were in the middle of a game of virtual jump rope when Logan tugged on Kendall's sleeve anxiously.

"Dude, dude, look!" Logan begged in a whisper.

"I know, Carlos has been jumping for 4 minutes straight!" Kendall said, not tearing his eyes off of the Latino jumping up and down rapidly like an energizer bunny.

"Well we all know he'll sleep well tonight," James said in amusement. Just then, Carlos' animated body on the screen jumped a split second too late and got tangled up in the rope, falling flat on his face on the concrete.

"Noooooo!" Carlos wailed, falling to the floor with his character even though the rope was imaginary. Kendall laughed, and Logan tugged on his shirt again.

"Ken-dall! Pay attention to me," Logan whined. He shoved his cellphone 5 inches away from Kendall's face to show him what was getting him all riled up. Kendall blinked and moved the phone further away so he could actually see the screen, which read "3 missed calls" from Mama K.

"Just ignore it," Kendall said.

"But I can't lie to Mama K!" Logan said fretfully.

"You aren't lying to her, Logan! Just don't answer the phone," Kendall told him. Logan moaned and whimpered.

"But it's your mom, I'm not strong enough to resist her power and-"

Kendall rolled his eyes, grabbed Logan's cell phone, and ripped the battery out of it. "Quit worrying about it, dude."

"Oh. That works," Logan said with a shrug, than joined Carlos for a game of double dutch.

By midnight, the 4 teenagers were jumped out and close to a sugar coma. They almost fell asleep on the media room floor when Gustavo poked his head in and bellowed for them to go to bed, so they got to their feet and trudged to their rooms and got dressed for bed. Carlos, Logan and James lied down and fell asleep immediately but Kendall went over to Katie's room to check on her since she had been absent all night.

The little brunette was fast asleep on her new bed, curled up with a pillow in her arms. Kendall went over and kissed her forehead gently. The little girls eyelashes fluttered opened slowly, and she smiled when she saw her big brother peering down sweetly at her.

"Hey baby sister, I'm sorry I woke you," Kendall whispered, brushing her silky brown hair away from her cheek.

"It's ok big brother," Katie said, sitting up to give Kendall a hug. The blonde pulled the young girl into his lap and held her there.

"Kendall I'm scared," Katie admitted, burying her face in his chest.

"You don't have to be scared, I got you," Kendall assured her. "Get some sleep Katie, you need it." Kendall gently laid his sister down and tucked her in, than gave her forehead another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too big brother," Katie said softly as she drifted off to sleep. Kendall stayed with her until she fell back to sleep than quietly left the room. He took out his phone to see if his mother had texted him anymore when he saw a number he'd never seen before on the screen. He opened the message and felt his stomach drop with horror.

"Kendall, I'm going to give you a choice. Either bring yourself, the boys and your sister back home by tomorrow, or I will find you myself. David."

Kendall gulped and squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding. What if David found them? He wasn't sure if David would even bother looking for them, but if he did, Kendall was sure that he would hurt all of them.

Kendall typed out a quick text message reading "You have what you want, my mom all to yourself. Leave us alone." After he pressed send, he deleted David's message, removed the phone battery and hid his phone in his dresser so he would never have to hear from his mom or David ever again, pretending that he never received the threatening text.

**A/N Have any of you ever played virtual jumprope before? I play it at Dave and Busters and win like a ton of tickets. Anyway, I hope this chapter was ok…**

**Ps, me and Twisted Illusions FINALLY got tickets for BIG TIME RUSH! We are going to be FRONT ROW AT THE HOUSTON RODEO! I am so stinkin' excited! And with our super stalking skillz combined, we are sure to meet them! GAH I JUST WANNA SQUISH A SQUIRREL OR KISS A RANDOM PERSON I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!**

**Please review teehee.**


	15. Taken

**A/N Terrible updating skills, I know. I'm sorry! Honestly, this story confuses me. I am a very confused person, and my own story is confusing me lol. So I need to figure out a direction to take this in and just do it, because the original one is just not working. And thanks for all of the wonderful reviews, it warms my heart. I try to reply to all of them best I can 'cause they make me sooo happyful! Like a rainbow, filled with butterscotch pudding and Logan.**

Kendall lay awake that night, the words his father had texted him running through his frazzled mind. He was too worried and upset to fall asleep. He wanted to go home to his mother, but that was not an option. Not until David was gone. Surely she would pick her children over that man, wouldn't she? Kendall just could not understand why his mother was doing this. She was always so strong and independent, and now she was going to let David cloud her judgment, just like that? It just didn't seem right.

James suddenly smacked his lips loudly and rolled over, his arm heavily coming down on top of Kendall's chest, causing the blonde boy to cough at the abrupt pressure.

"Ugh, James," Kendall whispered, trying to wriggle out of his best friend's bone crushing embrace. James was a notorious sleep-cuddler, and Kendall somehow got stuck sharing the same double-bed as him. He really didn't mind that much. There were only 2 double-beds in the room, and even though Gustavo had showed the boys an extra guest bedroom way down the hall, Logan had deemed it too far away. In a somewhat rare show of vulnerability, the younger boy had begged Kendall to let them all stay in the same room, and he had fallen asleep curled up with Carlos on the other bed.

Kendall panted when James started squeezing tighter around his diaphragm and tried to pull the heavy arm off of him. No sooner did he get free and was able to breathe properly, James pulled Kendall to his side and snuggled him as if he were a teddy bear. Kendall's cheek was smushed against James' chest, but at least he could breathe.

"James you're so weird," Kendall mumbled out in a whisper, but he had to admit, the position was comfy. He hadn't even noticed that he had been shivering until James' warm arms stopped the tiny, cold tremors. Kendall closed his eyes, feeling sleepy. The steady sound of James' snores and the soft vibrations against Kendall's ear slowly eased him into a restless sleep.

"Well this is interesting," Gustavo's voice boomed across the large bedroom, sending all 4 boys into a tangled mess of flailing, started limbs.

Kendall groaned, feeling like he had only just fallen asleep, but there was bright sunlight streaming through the blinds now. He looked around wearily to see his friends sitting upright, confused and groggy.

"Cuddle time is over," Gustavo announced. "Breakfast is on the table, and we are leaving for the studio in one hour." The fat man slammed the door shut behind him, and Kendall fell back against his bed. He had that general unrested, icky feeling inside of him that one gets after suffering a string of nightmares. His short rest had been anything but peaceful.

"You ok man?" James asked, punching Kendall kind of hard in the arm.

"Ow, yeah I'm fine," Kendall said, rubbing his forearm. "I'm going to go get Katie." Kendall rolled out of bed and headed across the hall to his sisters bedroom. He knocked softly and when he received no answer, Kendall cracked the door open and peaked his head in. His features softened when he saw the young girl in a tiny ball, snoring lightly and cuddling her fluffy comforter to her chest. Kendall stepped all the way into the room, closed the door behind him, and sat on the edge of Katie's bed.

"Hey little sister, it's morning," Kendall whispered, rubbing her back gently until she woke up. Long lashes fluttered open and she moaned, scrubbing her weary eyes with the back of her hands.

"Hey big brother," Katie said when she fully woke up. She hugged Kendall around the neck, feeling safe in her brother's arms. She wouldn't admit it, but she had a rather rough night. Nightmares plagued her sleep, and she ended up lying awake, frightened and alone until the sun came up, when she finally drifted off to sleep.

"You look sleepy," Kendall said, running his thumb along the puffy circles beneath her eyes. "Come on, let's get some breakfast."

"Can't I sleep for a little longer, please?" Katie begged, trying to hide beneath her blankets. Kendall sighed. The poor girl was exhausted.

"Yeah, you rest for a while. I don't want you getting sick," Kendall said, stroking her hair back. He kissed her nose and gave her a smile. Love you, baby sister."

"Love you too big brother," Katie said. Her eyes were already closed and she quickly fell back to sleep. Kendall made sure she was warm and snug before joining the rest of the boys at the breakfast table. They all looked just as tired as Katie had. Even Carlos wasn't eating his bacon as enthusiastically as normal. They were feeling the effects of the emotional strain David was forcing them to go through.

"Good morning Gustavo," Kendall said, trying to be pleasant to him since he had allowed them to stay at his home for a while. But he couldn't get a smile on his face, even though he tried.

"Good morning," Gustavo answered, not looking up from his paper. Kendall sat next to James and started chewing his breakfast quietly. After several minutes of just the sounds of clinking silverware and slurping of orange juice, Gustavo finally set down his newspaper and stared at them as if they were insane.

"Boys, I have never heard you be so quiet in the entire time I met you. It's freaking me out!"

'We're sorry Gustavo, we're just not in the mood I guess," James said, setting down his napkin on his half-eaten breakfast plate. On any normal day he would have had seconds.

Gustavo raised his eyebrows. "Well I hope you boys pep it up a bit, we have a lot to do in the studio today. Living with me means working twice as hard. I have an aggressive schedule for you boys planned out today, including 3 hours of warm up and harmonies and a 5 hour hip hop class with one of the best teachers I could find for you guys. So you better, you know, eat your food and wake up."

"Gustavo we kind of had a bad night," Logan said.

"With nightmares," Carlos put in sadly. Gustavo sighed. He didn't have the heart to yell at him like he usually would have, and he was hoping that a full schedule would keep their hyper minds off of everything that was going on. After all, that worked for him. Whenever Gustavo felt stressed, he would keep busy and work harder so he wouldn't have to think about it.

45 minutes later and the boys were all ready to go. Katie was still fast asleep though. Kendall wasn't sure if he should wake her up or not.

"She can stay here and sleep," Gustavo said when he passed Kendall in the hall, his green eyes watching his sister intently from the doorway. "Kelly will be here all day cleaning so she can keep an eye on her."

"Ok, thanks," Kendall said, reluctant to leave his sister alone all day. But he trusted Kelly, and Katie loved Kelly, too.

"Come on bro she'll be fine," James said on his way back from grabbing his backpack from their bedroom.

Kendall nodded and went downstairs with Gustavo and James.

"Hey Kelly can you kind of make sure that Katie doesn't wake up by herself, she might get scared," Kendall said. "Don't tell her I said that though."

Kelly chuckled. "Sure. Have a good day at the studio boys," she said, handing them their paper sack lunches as if she were their mother, even Gustavo's. Carlos even kissed her on the cheek, and they hopped in Gustavo's limo and drove off.

Kelly tied on her apron and got to work on cleaning Gustavo's mansion, something she did top to bottom every month for him since he was male and incapable of doing it himself. She didn't mind though, he paid her a hefty amount for her cleaning and shining expertise.

Several hours later, the doorbell rang, and Kelly ran to answer it. A tall man, taller than Kendall and probably weighing 250 pounds, greeted Kelly when she opened the door. His strikingly green eyes bore into hers, and his stubbly face broke out into a smile.

"Hi, I'm David, Kendall's dad," The man announced. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm here to pick up my kids."

~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boys were weak by the time they finally left the studio. It was nearly 10 pm, and they had been working all day with very little break.

"My muscles are about to melt off," Carlos complained, crawling into the limo and curling up on his seat. He was planning on napping the 40 minute drive back to the mansion.

"That's physically impossible but I get what you mean," Logan whined, resting his head on Kendall's shoulder tiredly. The 4 boys slumped together in the backseat and fell asleep as soon as the engine purred to life.

Gustavo sat rigid in the driver's seat, staring at his mansion. His heart pounded so hard he was afraid he might suffer a heart attack. The huge wooden door to his mansion was left wide opened, and even from the driveway he could see some pieces of furniture were perturbed in his living room. His first thought was that he had been robbed, and he panicked even more when he remembered that Katie and Kelly had been in the house all day.

Gustavo quickly undid his seatbelt and hurried up the steps into his mansion. He cringed when he saw his statue lay in pieces all over the great room floor.

"Kelly!" He yelled, but received no answer. He was disturbed to find that not one of his belongings was missing, but a few of his small tables and chairs were upturned and scattered. It looked more like a fight had taken place, than a robbery…

"Guys, where's Gustavo?" Carlos mumbled, waking up from his car nap. He noticed that Gustavo left them in his limo, alone and in the dark, and he couldn't help but feel a little frightened by that aspect.

"What?" Kendall wondered, opening his eyes. He looked around and saw that they were in the driveway of Gustavo's mansion. "Guys wake up," he said, shaking awake James and Logan. "Come on let's go inside."

The boys were confused and scared. Something didn't seem right, but they followed their leader into the mansion, staying in a tight cluster right behind him.

"Gustavo, where are you?" Kendall yelled upon entering the foyer.

"Upstairs!" A panicked voice boomed. They never heard Gustavo sound so frightened.

"Oh my God," Carlos whimpered as the boys ran up the stairs. Kendall was the quickest, taking the stairs 3 at a time with his long legs, fearing something was wrong with his little sister.

"Katie!" Kendall cried, reaching her bedroom, where Gustavo's voice came from. Instead of finding his sister, however, he found Gustavo on his knees, hovering tearfully over Kelly's shaking body.

"What happened?" Kendall cried, skidding to a stop from his run and landing next to Gustavo. His assistant was gravely injured, but he couldn't tell how so. All he knew was Gustavo was pressing a bloodied sheet to her abdomen and crying, literally crying. Kendall bit his knuckles, trying not to scream. He looked up at the shell-shocked faces of his younger friends, fighting off his tears.

"Logan, call 911," he ordered. Logan nodded, the emergency finally registering in his mind. The young woman looked pale and cold and he knew right away that she was in shock and losing a lot of blood.

"She's been shot," Gustavo said as Logan whipped out his phone and dialed the number, relaying information in a high-pitched, quick voice to the dispatcher.

"Is Kelly going to be ok?" Carlos asked in a small, squeaky voice. James wrapped an arm around him while Kendall just ignored the young boy for the moment.

"Do you know who shot her?" Kendall asked, feeling a bit woozy. It wasn't from the blood, but from fear. "And where's my sister, Gustavo? _Where's_ my sister?" He yelled that last part, making everybody in the room jump. Carlos' sobs could be heard, and James pulled the young boy from the room to calm down.

"I don't know," Gustavo answered, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He breathed heavily for a couple seconds. He couldn't believe something like this happened.

"Your dad," Kelly suddenly croaked, even though it hurt for her to talk, and Kendall wasn't able to make out her words, and neither could anyone else.

"Ssh, ssh, it's ok," Logan cooed, his nurturing instincts overriding his panic. He smoothed down her hair and looked the young woman in her usually mocha-colored eyes, which were now dark and almost lifeless. She was about to pass out soon. He had to blink back tears because he had never seen someone in so much pain before. "Help is coming Kelly, don't worry."

Kelly blinked rapidly, struggling to stay awake so she could relay the information before it was too late.

"He took her. He _took_ her," Kelly repeated, making sure Kendall could hear her. The blonde took Kelly's hand and squeezed it, understanding the words this time.

"Who took her?" Kendall asked anxiously. Anger and tears clouded his vision.

"Your dad," Kelly managed to say before blacking out.

"No! No, Kelly, stay with me!" Kendall cried, patting her cold, clammy cheek, but she didn't wake.

"Damn it!" Kendall roared, putting his face in his hands and sobbing. Logan squeaked, and his tears poured out as well, hot and angry like Kendall's.

"She'll be ok, they'll both be ok," Gustavo said, attempting to calm the frightened children and himself down.

A silence fell over the mansion as the boys and Gustavo wept, until screeching sirens could be heard from an ambulance, there to take Kelly's body away.

**A/N Meep. Ok I finally figured out what to do with this, even though it is going to be slightly different than I originally planned. Things are moving along kind of faster now. You like? *James' Borat voice* haha.**

**Reviews are the ribbons to my pigtails. And I love you.**


	16. Hostage

**A/N I finally got a little bit of my muse back for this story! As I had promised, now that I finished We Can Take the Tears Away, I am going to do my best to work on this and hopefully finish it! I really hope I still have readers for this one, and those that are still reading even after I abandoned it, thanks so much! It means everything that you are sticking with this story and putting up with me. Xoxoxo!**

The room was silent, but mass chaos erupted inside Kendall's mind. He felt panic taking over his body in waves, threating to control him. At some point, he had fallen to his knees and started making strange, distressed sounds that resembled sobbing, only not as violent. Kelly was still now, and Logan was stroking her hair with tears running down his flushed cheeks. Carlos and James were huddled together in the corner, crying in each other's arms, while Gustavo kneeled beside his best friend and assistant. Though his face was dry of tears, his large body was shuddering with emotion.

_Katie, Katie, Katie…_

The little girl's name was repeated over and over in Kendall's head. The most important girl in the world to him was taken by some maniac he was appalled to call his father. All he knew was that he had to figure out how to get her back, before it was too late.

The approaching sirens outside of the mansion grew to a loud screech. Suddenly the small, devastated room was flooded with paramedics and police. The boys all quickly got to their feet and huddled together in mass confusion, practically being knocked out of the way by the frantic paramedics.

"I don't think you kids should be here," Gustavo said in a low voice to the boys as Kelly was tended to. At this point, none of them knew if she was dead or alive, and the four children looked on in horror at the scene.

"But Gus-" Kendall began to argue.

"No, I want you boys out of here! Go to your room!" Gustavo yelled. Instead of yelling from frustration and annoyance, however, he his voice was filled with fear and concern. He just didn't want his dogs to see the mess that was happening or have to deal with police. They were too young. "I'll handle everything. Just go to your room," Gustavo added, this time more calmly. The boys nodded and reluctantly left the scene for their room.

While Logan, Carlos and James all collapsed onto a bed together with tear streaked faces, all asking questions that went unanswered, Kendall already had an agenda. He ignored his crying friends for the moment and went straight to his dresser, where his phone lay hidden beneath his clothes. He pulled the small object out and, with shaking fingers, inserted the battery pack and turned it on. Kendall was ready to beg and plead with his father, anything to get his sister back. After all, Kendall knew his father, even after being estranged for so long. The man never had any desire for Katie. Kendall knew that his father took her just to get under Kendall's skin, just to break him. Kendall's father was right. The blonde willingly fell into the trap. He would rather meet any kind of horrible demise than know his sister was unsafe.

Kendall was surprised to see that he had already received a message from his father. His stomach churned as he read the words. He could practically hear the man's wretched deep voice speaking to him as he read.

"_Hi Kendall, it's daddy. I know you think you're smarter than me, but you're not. No matter what you're thinking right now, it's not going to work. I will win this. But I will also admit, you're a tough little cookie. That's why I have Katie. I want to give you a choice, my little sweet boy. Or rather, an ultimatum, so if you want to get your lil sis back, how about you give your ol' papa a call? Xoxo, Daddy ;)_

Kendall felt his stomach go sour as his world came crashing down on him from just one simple text message. The cellphone slipped from his long, quaking fingers and fell to the plush carpeted floor with a quiet thud. All eyes in the room were on Kendall now, watching him carefully with worry and trepidation as the owners wondered what Kendall had read to make him freeze up like that.

James made the first move to pick up the small device from the floor and read what Kendall did. The brunette's fingers seized the phone tighter and tighter as the words Kendall's father wrote sunk in.

"Kendall, what…?" James asked. The shaken blonde didn't answer. He just pressed a hand to his forehead and scrunched up his eyes in thought. But James wanted answers, now. "Kendall, what the hell is going on? Your dad didn't actually write this, did he? Who shot Kelly and who took Katie?"

"James," Logan warned in a soft voice, putting his hands on James' arm to calm him down. Kendall was red faced and teary eyed, a sure sign that he would explode any moment. But instead of a burst of rage, Kendall sat down on a bed and looked up at his best friends. He took a deep breath, preparing to tell them everything. They had to know now, but it was hard for Kendall to get his voice to work. He felt ashamed and afraid over what was happening. If his own father was doing this, than what would his friends think of him?

"It's ok Kendall, you can tell us anything," Carlos encouraged. The small Latino approached Kendall and squeezed his shoulder assuredly.

"My dad isn't who you guys think he is," Kendall started. His voice broke with emotion and he closed his eyes, willing his voice to steady out long enough to tell his friends everything he had been keeping silent about for so many years. "When I was little, he used to beat on me a lot and he forced me to not tell mom or anybody. He wouldn't just threaten me with his fists, though. He would use a gun, too. I was just so scared… I was only a little boy and I didn't want to get shot…" Kendall cut off with an apology in his voice. He felt gentle fingers thread through his hair and he leaned into the touch, glancing up to see Carlos stroking his hair.

"That's not your fault, buddy," James said sternly. Kendall sniffled and wiped at his swollen, wet eyes with his fists. He hated crying in front of his friends but right now he couldn't help it.

"He told me I ruined everything. That he never wanted a boy. He only wanted a girl even though the loser didn't stick around to see Katie's birth let alone support her and raise her like a real father should have done. I'm the reason why he left my mom, he used to tell me. I'm the reason why mom is alone in the world. But I shut all of that out the day he left. I focused on being a good big brother and role model for Katie and the best son I could be for Mom. I thought he was gone from my life forever. I don't know why he's back, guys. All I know is he's crazy, and I'm scared to death that he wants more than to just remarry my mom."

"Do you think he wants to hurt you and Katie?" Logan asked.

"I don't think he's as intent on hurting Katie as he is me. He wants me, I'm the one who ruined his life, remember?" Kendall said. "I think he's using Katie to get to me. I have to call my dad. I'll do anything to get her back."

"Anything that doesn't kill you," Logan corrected. Kendall nodded distractedly and took the phone from James, who pulled it back with resistance.

"James, give me the phone," Kendall said.

"Why? Shouldn't we give the phone to the police and show them the message?" James asked, turning to Logan.

"James is right, that's criminal evidence. We need to give it to the police and let them find your sister," Logan said. Kendall wrestled the phone out of James' hands. Although the brunette was the strongest of the group, Kendall proved to bear the most strength when he was angry. James had no choice but to let Kendall take the phone and watched him warily.

"Everybody be quiet," Kendall said, punching in numbers on the touchscreen.

"Kend-"

"I said ssh!" Kendall snapped, causing Carlos to recoil against James. Kendall put the cell phone on speaker and motioned for the boys to listen. They leaned forward and listened carefully as the the other line rang a few times before a familiar, gruff voice answered.

"Kendall! I knew I was expecting to hear from you today. How's my boy?"

"Cut the crap, David," Kendall said instinctively. He had no time or patience for his father's games. "Where is my sister? Tell me now, David."

David "tsk'd" with his tongue. "Kendall, what I tell you, you need to call me 'dad,' ok buddy?"

"I'm not your buddy," Kendall growled through clenched teeth. "What do you want? Where's Katie?"

"Oh, she's right next to me, Kendall," David said, keeping a creepy, calm demeanor in his deep voice. "But she's sort of bound and gagged and can't speak at the moment."

Kendall noticed James looked like he was about to speak his very angry mind at that remark, and the blonde put a finger to his lips, signaling him to stay quiet at all costs.

"You better not have hurt her or so help me David," Kendall said, speaking the minds of all 4 boys in the tense room.

"I'm not exactly scared of a little boy, Kendall. I've proved to you many times that you are powerless against me so don't make threats you can't keep."

"Just tell me where my sister is David I'll give you whatever you want," Kendall said, his voice high pitched and strained. He ran his hand across his sweaty forehead and forced back frustrated tears.

"Oh, alright. I'll tell you what I want. I want you. And since I know your little friends are here, how about you bring them, too? And in exchange, you can have your sister back."

"Safe and alive?" Kendall asked.

"Depends on how she behaves. So far she's proving to be as feisty as her big brother."

"David!" Kendall yelled, loud enough so the place could hear but with enough force in his voice to let David know that he wasn't kidding around.

David chuckled. "Ok, ok. Meet me at 5th and Boulder, it's an old warehouse. But let me get this through your pretty, thick headed skull. Bring your boys and nobody else. Because if the cops just happen to show up for any reason, I will put a bullet through your sister's brain and don't think I'm just kidding. Your friend Kelly got herself shot. Better off killing somebody than make any risks. So is it clear, Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan? We'll discuss matters further when you arrive at my location. And remember, you bring cops, and I will kill everybody you love. See you in a little while, Son."

The phone line went dead with a _click._

**A/N Omg… I didn't ever think I could go on with this story and it's all thanks to Twisted Illusions! I will have the next chap up asap. I hope you all liked it! Thanks so much for reading and please review. Love you all have a great weekend.**

**Ps I didn't have time to proof read so I apologize for mistakes.**


	17. 5th & Boulder

**A/N Thanks for all of the reviews guys! You all deserve a quick update! A special thanks to Twisted Illusions and Boots and Opals for helping me out so much with this story. Love you guys! And just as a forewarning, starting at this chapter onward, this story will most likely contain graphic scenes, violence, and language. **

There was a moment where Kendall, Carlos, Logan and James stared dumbfounded at the cellphone held in Kendall's hand, utterly stunned. They had never dealt with anything like this before in their lives. They were just teenagers. Their biggest troubles were supposed to be passing math and finding a date to the prom, not dealing with a maniac murderer who was father to one of their best friends. To say the boys didn't know what to do was a great understatement. James, Carlos and Logan felt a bit guilty as they slowly looked up to Kendall for instruction. It wasn't fair that Kendall had to be the leader in this situation, because in no way was he an adult capable of handling something like this, but he was their only hope to possibly deal with it in a sane way. James looked like he was about to rip his own precious hair out, Carlos' nose was twitching as he sniffled and struggled to hold back tears, and Logan wanted to run right out of the room and tell Gustavo everything. None of those things would do them much good though. So that's why three sets of very large, very scared wet eyes focused on Kendall's angry green ones and begged for any kind of instruction or leadership he could give.

"I gotta go get Katie," Kendall said, shoving his phone in his pocket. His eyes were full of purpose and determination now. It was as if his mind was channeling one thing only now: "Get Katie, get Katie, get Katie."

"I was afraid you might say that," Logan said timidly.

"You heard my dad, we can't let police deal with this," Kendall said. "David is crazy, but he's petty. He'll let Katie go and that's all that matters, after that I can deal with him myself. Everything else is between me and him."

"Wait, we have no idea what this guy is capable of," James put in. "You barely even know him, Kendall. He could be really, really bad. We already know he's dangerous. He shot Kelly, possibly even killed her."

"He has Katie, James. _Katie," _Kendall said, and the way he said her name struck a chord in James. The way his voice cracked and his eyes teared up just by even mentioning her name. Kendall loved Katie, and Katie was Kendall's only breaking point.

"Ok," James said. His voice was hoarse with emotion and he cleared his throat before continuing. "We'll do whatever it takes to her back, man. And we'll do it together. You heard David, he knows we were in the room listening to the conversation. We have to all go together."

"No, no I can't bring you guys in this with me," Kendall said. His already white face paled even more at the thought.

"David said we have to come with and you aren't going alone," Carlos said. "You heard what he said."

"Carlos is right, there's no way in hell you're going without us. We'll all protect each other," Logan said. He was glad he didn't sound quite as nervous as he felt inside.

"Ok," Kendall agreed, even though every fiber of his being was screaming at him to make them stay at the mansion regardless of what David had said. "But I'm in charge. I call the shots. Whatever I say, goes. He's not allowed to touch any of you. I don't care what he does to me. Your safety and Katie's safety comes first. I mean it guys."

James, Carlos and Logan recognized the plea in Kendall's voice and agreed reluctantly. They knew that he would be devastated if anything ever happened to them, and would most likely blame it one himself. There were many instances in which one of them got hurt during a hockey match and, even though Kendall had nothing to do with the injury, he would still feel partly to blame because he was their leader, their captain, and he refused to allow his team to get hurt on his watch.

"So what do we do now?" Carlos asked. "The police are across the hall. And Gustavo won't exactly just let us go to some warehouse where a possible kidnapper and murderer is waiting for us."

"Carlos, do you have to say it like that?" Logan squeaked. Carlos shrugged apologetically.

"We have to sneak out," Kendall said. He turned on his heel and went to the large, single window across the room, pressing his forehead to the glass and peering out into the darkness. "Logan, grab some money for a cab." Kendall unlatched the window and lifted it. A gust of chilly air blew through the screen, making him shiver. The blonde opened the screen and looked all the way out. The street was dark and quiet. The ambulance was gone by now but several police cars were still parked in the driveway, but they all appeared to be empty.

"We gotta make this quick," Kendall said. He reached into the large duffle they all had been sharing and grabbed the boys' jackets. "Put these on, it's cold out there. We're gonna climb down the terrace and make a run for it towards downtown, where we'll grab a cab to take us to 5th and Boulder."

"Where is 5th and Boulder exactly? Isn't that a really bad part of town, and kind of far?" James asked, slipping his long, muscular arms into the sleeves of his fleece-lined jacket.

"I guess we'll find out," Kendall said. "Come on, hurry up. If the cops see us we are done for." The blonde reached out and pulled Carlos by the arm, pulling him towards the window. The youngest of the group quickly crawled out the window and onto the small terrace. Logan was next, followed by James and then Kendall.

Kendall and James were first to climb down, using the criss-cross patterns of the beams as foot holds. Once safely on the ground, Kendall helped Logan down, wrapping his arms around the brunet's small waist and setting him on his feet while James helped Carlos in the same way. The boys wasted no time in taking off in a run. Years of endurance and stamina training for hockey and performing helped the boys run at a steady pace without stopping until they reached the busy, lit-up city streets about a mile away from the mansion. Kendall skidded to a stop on the sidewalk and held out his arm for a taxi, causing James, Carlos and Logan to bump into him with the momentum they gained while running.

"I can _not_ believe this is happening," Logan said through clenched teeth as they climbed into a taxi that stopped for them. James, who was sandwiched between him and Carlos, patted his knee.

Kendall climbed in next to Logan and quickly recited the address they needed to the driver, who looked at them for a moment like, "why in the world would four boys need to go to 5th and boulder?" and that made Logan sure that it must be a really bad part of town.

It was a long drive with over an hour of being crammed in the tiny backseat of the taxi, the boys feeding off of each other's nervous, tense energy. The driver kept glancing back at them as if they were part of some kind of drug deal gone wrong. They probably looked like guilty little criminals, and they were glad that the taxi driver must have had his fair share of experience with strange passengers because he kept his mouth shut the whole time.

Finally, the taxi driver dropped the boys off on 5th street. For the last half an hour of the drive the teens had watched the scenery change from lights and people to desolate and glum. When the taxi driver sped off, anxious to get away from what was obviously not a safe place to be, four loud, nervous gulps could be heard. The boys were shoulder to shoulder, looking around this dark, ghetto part of the city.

"Where is everyone?" Carlos asked. The streets were littered with garbage and potholes, but no people could be seen or heard. Only one single street light was working, and even that was dim and flickered on and off randomly while buzzing loudly, the only noise on the otherwise quiet street.

"I don't know, but stay away from the alley ways and stay close to me," Kendall warned, leading them to the middle of the street, far away from the skinny, black spaces between the dirty brick buildings. The blonde turned to James, and green eyes met hazel ones as they silently read each other's minds. _Protect Logan and Carlos._ The two smallest of the group had no chances of defending themselves if something were too happen. So the two tallest boys stood on either side of Carlos and Logan and a couple inches in front of them as if they were their bodyguards.

"Kendall, David never gave us an exact address, did he?" Logan asked.

"No, he just said a warehouse," Kendall said. His eyes scanned the area as they walked forward slowly. The entire street seemed to consist of empty, closed down warehouses. Most of them had boarded up windows and graffiti marred all over the bricks. Even the spray paint of the graffiti seemed dull and dirty, faded away after years of abandonment. It was Kendall's guess that nobody used this side of town for anything other than drug deals in many years.

Kendall felt a small hand grab the fabric of his jacket and fist it tightly. The blonde glanced back, expecting to see Carlos, but it was Logan who clung to him like a frightened little boy.

"I'm scared," the brunet said. He had every right to be scared, of course. They were four teenage boys stranded and alone in what was most likely the murder capital of LA.

Kendall was just about to assure the smart boy that everything would be alright when he heard a rustle of a chain and caught movement out of his peripherals. He told his friends to hush and turned around to see a large man jumping off of a chain link fence across the street. Carlos, James and Logan whimpered and bunched together but Kendall held his ground, though his insides were telling him that this was very, very bad.

"Please be homeless," Carlos whispered.

"He can't be homeless. Look how big he is," Logan whispered. James flexed his muscles. If this guy so happened to be a mugger, he was pretty sure that together and Kendall could take him down, but it would be quite the fight.

"He's coming towards us," Kendall said below his breath. "Just walk away guys."

The boys changed their direction and quickly walked away from the man that was approaching them. Kendall was sure he could hear his friend's heart's racing as they made way towards the single light down the street.

There was another rustle of metal and the boys stopped dead in their tracks when a second man emerged from the shadows that the empty buildings cast in the moonlight.

"Oh fuck, what are we going to do?" James whimpered out in a high-pitched voice.

"We have to fight," Kendall said, his eyes cast on a third man approaching them. The blonde backed up and so did James in a way so that Carlos and Logan were protectively sandwiched between the two larger, muscular bodies.

"'Litos, Logan, run if you have to," James said as he made a fist. The three men were surrounding them now and coming quickly.

Logan decided this would be the wrong time to point out the fact that they had no idea where to run, since they had no idea where to go, and also that even if they did know where to go he and Carlos would never leave Kendall and James during a fight.

"Well you must be Kendall, backed up by his cute little boy band posse," one of the men called out. He was about David's size and age, only with curly brown hair rather than straight and blonde. He stopped several feet away from the confused boys, who watched warily as the other two equally large men stopped in back of them, forming a small circle so that there was no way they could run without being caught.

Now that the men weren't so far away, Kendall could see that they were massively muscled beneath leather jackets. Their faces were scarred and ugly and their eyes had a mean, dark glint in them.

"Don't look so confused, kiddo. Your daddy told us you were coming."

"Where's my sister?" Kendall growled. The man rolled his eyes.

"David told me you were an over-protective little thing. You'll see her, eventually. Once we get you kids out of here."

"What do you mean?" Kendall asked. He could tell just by the guy's body language and nasty look on his face that he was not on their side.

"I mean we get you out of LA, per your daddy's orders. You're coming with us."

"N-no way," James said, even though he knew that they really had no choice in the matter.

In a split second, with one swift movement, a fist collided roughly with the side of James' head, sending the boy to the ground in an unconscious heap of limbs. Kendall turned around in shock and saw James lying their lifelessly. He lunged forward instinctively at the goons he had his back towards but they swiftly avoided his attack. A knee collided with his groin, sending the blonde down to the black asphalt, doubled over with pain and gasping for air.

The chain of events went perfectly as planned. When Kendall, who David had informed the goons was tough but impulsive, had tried to attack, he left Logan and Carlos open and undefended. While one of David's goons sent Kendall to the ground, writhing with pain, the curly haired guy and another goon used the opportunity to pull 2 wet pieces of fabric out of their pockets and sneak up behind the two littlest boys.

Kendall watched this happen in slow motion, screaming and struggling to get to his feet, but it was impossible when the man who had kicked him was on top of him, weighing him down. He yelled to get Carlos and Logan's attention at what was about to happen, but it was no use. The fabric, which Kendall knew was soaked in chloroform, was pressed to their mouths and noses. Logan and Carlos struggled for about half a minute before the noxious fumes sent their bodies limp and lifeless just like James. Now Kendall was screaming for help, begging for God to send someone, but the street stayed desolate through the horrifying scene and Kendall's screams were ignored until they were finally ceased by a white rag soaked in the same poison that knocked his friends out.

5th and Boulder was quiet again.

**A/N And now the action begins.**

**Review?**


	18. Confined

**A/N *Cries because all the amazing reviews* THANK YOU. And a special thanks to all the anonymous reviews which I can't reply to. I love you guys! Oh, and in one review Kendall and James' burns from earlier in the story were mentioned… I can't reply directly cause it's anon but thanks for reminding me and I have something planned for them because they are definitely not healed yet. ;) **

James was the first to wake up, and he awoke in a confused panic. Pain exploded in his head, leaving behind a dizzying ache, but the brunet ignored it as he tried to figure out where he was and what was happening. Taking deep breaths to stay calm, James assessed his surroundings best he could even though he was in complete darkness. First thing he could tell was that he was lying down. Whatever he was lying down in was moving, and that kind of made him feel sick. James couldn't tell if his friends were with him or not, and a surge of fear that he was all alone ran through him.

"_Kendall!_" James cried out. He flung his arms out to the side, and his hands collided with the warm, clammy skin of one of his friends. He reached up and tangled his fingers in short hair, and he immediately could tell it was Carlos who was still and lifeless beside him.

"Guys, are you awake?" James asked. He couldn't see his buddies, but he did his best to nudge them with his arms and legs. Nobody answered him. They were out like a light, and James wondered how that had happened. The last he remembered was some really huge guy colliding his beefy fist with his head. James cringed at the painful memory. What if his friends were injured, just like he had been? And where in the hell did those guys put them?

James reached into his jean's pockets, searching for his phone to use as a light, but somebody had taken his phone.

"_Damn it,"_ James whispered. No cell phone meant contacting help was out of the question. But he did remember that the small, compact mirror that he kept in his back pocket at all times had a light when you opened it. Lifting his butt up a little, James reached back and grabbed the little mirror. He opened it up and the small, tight space he was laying in was illuminated very dimly. But at least he was able to see where he was and make sure the boys weren't bleeding or seriously injured.

The best James could tell was that they were in a trunk of a vehicle, which would explain why it was moving. It seemed to be a very large trunk, because he was almost able to lay straight. His knees were only bent a little.. It may have even been a bed of a pickup truck. His friends did not look injured and seemed to just be sleeping. Even though James was still freaking out, he was relieved to see that his friends were in one piece.

"Kendall… Kendall wake up," James said, scooting on his back towards where his blonde friend lay. He reached out and shook his friend violently. Kendall woke up with a start. He let out a whimper when, upon opening his eyes, he was met with total darkness, and sat up too quickly for James to stop him. In a way that would have been comical had they not been in a life or death situation, Kendall's head and the roof of the trunk collided with a loud, dull thud.

"Ow!" Kendall whined, his hand moving quickly to the sore, tender spot on his head that he just bumped. James hissed in sympathy and gathered Kendall in his arms best he could in the tight space.

"Dude, are you ok?" James said, patting his back.

Kendall groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Ungh… James? Where are we? What's going on?"

"I don't know, dude. I woke up with the worst headache ever," James said. He opened up his mirror to let Kendall see the tiny space they were in, but turned it off seconds later to reserve battery just in case they were in there for longer than they wanted to be. "I think they stuffed us in the trunk. Are we being kidnapped, Kendall?"

"Ugh, I think so," Kendall said. He glanced over to Carlos and Logan's sleeping bodies to make sure they were ok. He was still feeling a bit groggy after being attacked with chloroform. "Are you alright James?"

"Yeah, I guess. My head hurts and my stomach feels sick."

"If he gave you a concussion I will kill him," Kendall threatened. James chuckled.

"You haven't been awake for two minutes and already you're making threats, Kendall."

James was pretty sure he could see Kendall's scowl even in the darkness. "Nobody beats up my friends and kidnaps them without expecting me to kill them."

The boys were silent for a moment because scarily enough, they both knew Kendall's words were true.

"What do you think he wants, Kendall?" James asked. "Why would he kidnap us? What did we do?"

"First of all, it is nothing you or Logan, or Carlos or Katie ever did," Kendall said. "Whatever he is doing this for, it has everything to do with me and nothing to do with you guys. I can't tell you the reason why because I don't know. I don't know why my dad hates me so much. But I do know one thing, he's crazy."

"That's for sure, he's crazy alright. But at least you're not in this alone, Kendall," James said, his voice dripping with sincerity. "It's going to be ok. Nothing is going to happen to any of us or your sister."

Kendall nodded. He wished he could believe those words, but he was afraid. There was a bad feeling in his gut that something bad and unavoidable was bound to happen soon.

Several minutes later, Carlos began to come too. The Latino was confused and weary, but Kendall and James were able to keep him calm as soon as they sensed him start to stir.

"Carlos, are you awake?" James asked softly, carding his hand through his short hair.

"Huh? J-James? Where am I?" Carlos gasped. The boy immediately tensed and started feeling around with his hands. "Why can't I sit up?"

"Ssh, ssh, it's ok. Kendall and Logan and I are right here," James said. "We're being kidnapped but it's ok, because Kendall and I will get you out of here safely."

"It's too dark," Carlos said, squirming around to get closer to his friends. "Kendall?"

"I'm right here buddy," Kendall assured the younger boy. "We have a light but we need to conserve battery just in case we are in here for a long time."

"And what about Logie?"

"He's fast asleep next to me," Kendall said. "You alright, 'Litos? Please don't be scared."

"I feel strange," the Latino complained.

"Strange how? Does your stomach hurt?" Kendall asked.

"No, my head feels icky," Carlos said.

"It's the chloroform, I feel icky too," Kendall said. "It makes you headachy and groggy but it will go away, ok buddy?"

"Hey guys, I think Logan is waking up," James said. He thought he heard a rustle of movement from where Logan lay sleeping. It was incredibly awkward for the boys to shift weight or really move at all the tight, confining space, but James managed to wiggle his way over to Logan, ready to comfort him if need be.

It was easy to say that Logan handled their predicament a lot harder than the rest of the quartet. Immediately, he started hyperventilating and thrashing his limbs everywhere, accidently kicking his friends several times in the face and gut. The panicking boy was yelling so loudly that he ignored his friend's comforting words.

"Logan! It's ok, we're right here!" Kendall yelled over the younger boy's screeches for help. Blinded by the darkness, Kendall felt his way to Logan and held his arms down while James controlled his short, kicking legs.

"Logan you need to calm down," Kendall said loudly and steadily. "Listen to me. James, Carlos and I are right here. My father took us and we are locked in what seems to be the bed of a pick-up truck. I know it sounds scary but I'm right here, you aren't alone buddy. Snap out of it."

It took a minute, but eventually Logan calmed down. The smart boy was very scared of the dark and claustrophobic, but he finally stopped his fit after realizing that his friends were with him, even though he couldn't make the eye contact with Kendall that he so desperately craved due to the darkness. He needed to look into Kendall's bottle green eyes to know that everything was ok.

Logan let out a tiny sob and put a hand over his chest, feeling his heart pounding violently against his palm. "W-we're being kidnapped?" He choked out in disbelief.

"Yeah, my dad took us for some reason," Kendall said. "I'm so sorry, buddy. I promise it will be ok. We can't be in here forever. We'll get to wherever we are going and figure it out from there. Just one thing at a time and first thing is getting out of this trunk before I go insane."

Unexpectedly, Kendall drew back his fist and hit the roof with such a strong force that it rattled, and James, Carlos and Logan yelped with surprise. They weren't stunned for long though. After Kendall's first punch, Carlos decided to throw a couple of punches himself. The trunk rattled, but being that it was dead-bolted from the outside, it did not budge.

James joined in on this, and then Logan, and soon the four boys were banging continuously on the trunk without letting up while screaming for help, hoping and praying for the best. Maybe someone would hear their cries and feel fishy about it. Maybe that person would jot down the license number and report it to police, and then Mama K would pick them up from the station and take them home. She would give them a long lecture and ground them forever and make them take hot baths and drink hot cocoa while David was being locked up for kidnapping.

But nobody answered their desperate crying. Soon, their voices began to give out and their pounding became weaker. The four became quiet again, save for the occasional whimper because their throats were hurting so badly from screaming for what was probably hours. They curled up against each other in a tangle of trembling limbs, too frightened to speak.

The worst part was not knowing where they were going or what was happening in the outside world. It was a guessing game. Neither of them knew when the truck would finally stop. Several questions nagged their minds over the hours and festered into paranoia. Would their kidnappers even let them out to use the bathroom? Were they forgotten about in the back of the truck? Was it daytime or night time? Were they still even in California? Not to mention all of the horrible things that their imagination came up with that David and his big, scary thugs might do to them when they did finally get wherever they were going.

"Guys… It's hard to breathe," Logan whimpered. His voice was small and gravelly from all of the yelling he had done combined with lack of use. It had been a very long time since any of them had talked, but none of the boys could actually pinpoint how long they had even been in the trunk seeing as how they had no way to keep track of time. Logan had even begun to wonder if Kendall was wrong, that they really would be stuck in the trunk forever.

"In through your nose, out through your mouth," Kendall said, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. It really was hard to breath. The air was stale, stuffy, and thick. It was also considerably hot with all four bodies tangled together, but they wouldn't dare separate from each other.

"There's no airflow in here," Logan said with a wheeze. "We're going to suffocate."

"Don't say that!" James hissed, turning slightly to face Logan out of habit, even though he couldn't see his friend's tear-streaked face. He had to hold in a groan of pain because his limbs were so stiff and sore from being compacted in one position for so long. "They'll let us out sometime. Don't scare Carlos,"

"I'm not scared," Carlos said, but his high-pitched voice betrayed him. "My body hurts though."

"Mine too," James said, rubbing his sore shoulder and neck.

"This is miserable," Logan whined. He coughed a bit and struggled to take a deep breath of thick, humid air.

"Ssh," Kendall said, running a hand through Logan's sweaty hair. "Just stay still and be quiet so we don't waste oxygen."

The quiet didn't last long. This time, only a few minutes went by before Carlos piped up. The boys were still scared, but boredom was starting to set in too.

"I have to pee," the Latino whined.

"Hold it just a while longer," Kendall said.

"Great, you just had to say something now I have to pee, too," James said.

"Guys, please be quiet," Logan said. "I just want to sleep."

Kendall arched an eyebrow at Logan's comment. Sure, he was tired too, but he was too scared and wired to even attempt to sleep, and he knew James and Carlos were the same way.

"Logie, are you feeling alright?" The blonde asked, worry coursing through him when he could hear a very faint wheeze coming from the small brunet.

"It's hard to breathe," Logan repeated. Kendall put his hand on Logan's chest, which was rising up and down a little too fast for his liking.

"I know it is buddy. Just stay calm," Kendall said, pulling his friend's little body close to him. James and Carlos listened to Kendall murmur encouraging words to Logan, reminding him how to breathe.

Several minutes later, the pickup truck slowed down and then stopped altogether. Kendall went quiet. Only Logan's heavy breathing could be heard as the four boys stayed still with anticipation. They prayed they would be let out, if only to take a few deep breaths of clean air.

"Please let us out, please let us out," Carlos chanted under his breath. The truck had stopped a couple times before, but they assumed it had only been to get gas because a few minutes later the engine would start right back up again and they would be hauled along again.

But this time, there was a small thud on the roof that startled the boys, followed by an annoying creak of metal as the hatch at the end of the pickup was let loose. A rush of cool air came in and the boys breathed deeply with relief. They rolled onto their stomachs and looked out to see an ugly, half-amused man's face sneering at them. James recognized the face immediately as belonging to the man who punched him in the head, and the pretty boy cowered back a bit.

"Well wow, you boys sound like you're dying in there or something," the man said in his ugly voice. The boy's stared at him, unsure what to do or say. "I figure it's time to let you boys out for a pee break so you don't ruin my truck. So here's what you're going to do. One by one, you're gonna get outta there and pee by the trees. If you boys are real good, I'll even let you have some water. But no funny business, understood? Especially you, pretty boy." The man glared at James, who glanced around nervously with a "what the hell did I do?" expression on his face.

Kendall was the first to inch forward, nodding at his friends that it was ok. He scooted on his belly till he reached the hatch, where the man pulled him out. Kendall looked at his surroundings carefully. It was nighttime, meaning they were in the truck for about 24 hours, and they were parked several yards away from a tiny gas station in an un-lit area near a bunch of trees so the store clerk couldn't see them. Kendall could see one of the thugs from 5th and Broadway in the store buying supplies and the other guy was near them, standing guard.

Kendall helped his friends out of the pickup and they were led into the trees to do their business.

"Um, a little privacy please?" Kendall said snippily when the thug didn't turn around. He sure as well was not going to pee in front of this guy and neither were his friends.

The man glared at him before finally turning around so they could pee privately. Kendall glanced back to make sure they weren't being watched. The two thugs were standing a few feet away with their arms crossed and the other guy was still in the store. James was thinking the same exact thing as Kendall was and turned to him, mouthing a single word with his lips.

"Run?"

Kendall nodded. The boys knew how to run. They had amazing stamina and light, lithe bodies while the thugs, though muscular, were large and middle-aged. With youth and luck on their side, Kendall grabbed Logan's arm, James and grabbed Carlos, and without really thinking things through, the boys made a run for the gas station. It wasn't horribly far away, surely they could make it. Carlos and Logan were confused at first but caught on quickly and forced their legs to move faster than they ever did before.

They were wrong about the men, though. They must have been football players because in mere seconds, James felt himself being tackled to the ground, and he landed on his hurt arm. He tried to scream out in pain but he couldn't, his breath having been knocked out of his chest with the brute force of the tackle.

Even though he was in pain and gasped for precious air, James still struggled against his captors arms. He looked up to see if, hopefully, he was the only one who had been taken down. But the large man had taken down both him and Carlos in one movement and had them pinned beneath his sweaty, huge body. Kendall had also been tackled and was fighting tooth and nail, but it was useless against the body-builder of a man that had tackled him. Only Logan was missing…

"Logie, run!" James screamed, looking up to see his scared little friend standing there with a look of nervous horror written on his face. "Get help!"

Logan was the only one who hadn't been tackled. His tiny body was lighter than any of theirs and he made it further, but now he stood several yards away from his friends, unsure what to do. He wanted to help his struggling friends, but he also knew he couldn't do it alone. The two thugs were busy trying to keep James, Kendall and Carlos down and figured their buddy in the store would easily take care of Logan.

Logan's mind was blank with panic, but something in him clicked to get help, fast, and somehow his legs quickly carried him to the small, lit-up gas station in the near distance.

**A/N Uh-oh, what's going to happen in the gas station… And I bet David's thugs aren't happy that they tried to make a break for it. Oh well at least they tried, right? **

**Pleaseeee review it makes me happier than an elf. YAY.**


	19. The Gas Station

**A/N All of your reviews are so awesome! Thanks so much! I'm nearing 300, it's so close! Help me get there? ;) Love ya!**

Logan willed his short legs to run away from his struggling friends to where help, he prayed, was waiting inside the gas station. At some point, he tripped and fell sprawled out against the gravel parking lot, but he quickly pushed himself back up and continued the rest of the distance to the small building.

"Help us!" Logan gasped out upon tumbling through the glass doors of the convenience store. He was met with the glare of fluorescent lights and the general smell of food, gas and cigarettes that a gas station usually had. But even though everything looked normal at first, he knew right away that something wasn't right. As soon as he burst through the doors, he froze in place and his blood ran cold. It took a second for Logan to realize he had just walked in on a robbery.

The young attendant at the counter stood terrified, his face a pale white and sweat and tears dripping down his cheeks. The third thug that had kidnapped Logan and his friends stood in front of the counter, a gun pointed at the boy's head. He couldn't have been much older than Logan.

"No, please," Logan whimpered. He didn't even care at that moment that their last hope for help was gone. He just couldn't bare it if the poor, innocent kid was killed.

The thug looked surprised for a moment that Logan was in the store, but then he just chuckled and clicked his tongue.

"What are you doing here, kid?" David's thug asked. "Making a break for it? Naughty boy. You'll learn quickly you can't escape."

Logan couldn't speak. His mouth was dry, his palms were clammy, and he felt bile settling in the back of his throat.

"God, please don't kill me," the kid behind the counter whimpered out. Logan's heart pounded with sympathy. He didn't deserve this. "I gave you the money, just please go away. Leave me alone."

"He's just a kid," Logan croaked out, finding his voice and a smidgen of bravery with it. "Let him go. He did nothing."

The man's eyes flashed evilly. Logan felt a chill go up his spine. These guys really were pure evil.

"Now see, I can't do that… Logie, is it? I don't know, David told me your names but I forget. I just know he said there was the pretty little gay one, the little retarded Mexican, the problem child, Kendall, and the scared nerd, which must be you, huh?"

"Don't talk about my brothers that way," Logan said through clenched teeth, feeling very defensive of his friends.

"Do you know why I can't let this boy go?" The man asked, ignoring Logan as if he never spoke. Logan shook with anger and fear, chancing a glance towards where his friends were, but they were hidden in the distance. He wished Kendall was with him, because he was terrified being alone and trapped in this gas station. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it.

"Do you know _why?" _The man growled loudly. Logan shook his head meekly and seemed to shrink two sizes while the boy being held captive whimpered.

"Because now he knows," the thug said simply. "He's a witness now. I was going to let him go, but you had to traipse on in here, trying to escape. If you had just listened and done as you were told, we would be on the road right now to where we are supposed to be going."

Logan gulped, feeling dizzy. Was this man trying to say that the boy would die because of _him?_

"Please, I won't tell anybody," the boy begged.

"Sorry, I can't chance anyone finding out we have these kids," the thug said as if that was a perfectly reasonable excuse to kill an innocent kid.

"No!" Logan screeched, leaping forward to knock the gun out of the thug's hands, but it was too late. With a deafening bang, the gun went off and echoed inside the small building. Logan watched in slow motion as the boy slumped to the ground, clutching his chest where he was obviously shot, blood already pooling rapidly in his hands and to the bright white tiled floors.

"No! Why did you do that?" Logan sobbed, running to the boy's body. He grasped onto Logan's arms for dear life, and Logan had to avoid eye contact with him because there was such sheer pain in his innocent orbs. Logan immediately applied pressure to the wound but it was to no avail, Logan could see where the bullet had penetrated, and it was right where his young, healthy heart was. He would be dead in seconds.

"I'm sorry," Logan whispered, laying the boy gently on the blood stained floor. He noticed the small, platinum name tag on his blue work shirt, notifying Logan that his name had been Anthony.

"I'm sorry Anthony," Logan repeated. Anthony's weak grip loosened with his last breath, and then he was completely still. Logan was horrified. He had never felt such a strong, remorseful emotion for a stranger before.

"Come on, kid!" The thug yelled in Logan's ear, swiftly lifting the crying boy off the floor. He slung him over his shoulder and ran back to the pick-up where his buddies were waiting for him.

"What the hell did you do?" The thug who was holding Kendall down shouted to his friend. He wasn't using much strength to hold the kid down anymore. The blonde was growing tired, not to mention he was now bound and gagged, and James and Carlos were in the same predicament.

"Quit you're fussing," the thug carrying Logan scolded. He dropped Logan roughly to the dirt. "Watch this one, I'm going to go disconnect the surveillance cameras and steal the tape before the coppers come."

"You killed a kid!" The thug, who was now holding down Logan down as well as Kendall, said incredulously. "We don't kill nobody! That's David's job!"

"Why does David get to have all the fun all of the time?" The murderer said with a glint of something evil in his eye. Logan watched the argument, only half paying attention. His mind was still on the shooting that had just happened. His body felt stiff and he couldn't fight back even if he wanted to as the man started tying him up with a rope. He could feel the fibers cutting into his skin and his arms being pulled taunt behind his back, but he was in a different place right now. The scene in the gas station kept replaying in his mind over and over. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Logan knew he was probably going into shock.

"Logie," a muffled voice said quietly. Logan looked beside him to see Carlos staring at him with a tear in his eyes. Logan blinked and looked away. A gag was tied tightly around Logan's mouth, hushing the loud whimpers that he didn't even know he was making.

"You boy's should have behaved and done as you were told," A thug said, the same one who had shouted at the man who killed the boy. He had a bit of a southern accent, which was weird to hear in California. "Maybe next time ya'll would listen. Just had to find out the hard way, didn't ya?"

James grumbled in reply and shot a worried glance over to Logan, who was pale white and trembling now. His eyes had a distant look in them, as if he was there physically but not actually with them.

"Come on, let's load 'em up and get outta here," a gruff voice said.

One boy one, the large men lifted the young boy's bodies off of the dirt and laid them down in the bed of the truck.

"Ya'll can think about what you did," the southern accented thug said before closing the trunk hatch with a metallic "clank," leaving the scared boys once again in total darkness.

**A/N I'M SO MEAN OMG. Lol. Thanks for reading. I know things are sooo busy with proms and ACT's and graduations but reviews are treasured ;) Have a great week and expect an update very soon! **


	20. The Room

**A/N I'm back for another update, yay! 20****th**** chapter, guys! I can't believe it! Thanks for all of the reviews and reads on the last chappie. XOXOXO!**

The following couple of hours after the gas station incident were the worst. The boys knew now that these guys were scary, and they meant business. Every minute spent in the tight, pitch-black confines of the pickup truck seemed to stretch on forever. They were getting restless and taken over by fear. Even though James, Kendall and Carlos hadn't seen exactly what had happened in the gas station, they could tell it was something really bad, because Logan stayed in a tiny ball curled up in the corner of the pickup, crying his eyes out until he started hiccupping and hyperventilating. Kendall felt completely helpless. He wished more than anything that he could comfort Logan, but now that he was bound and gagged, that was pretty much impossible.

They didn't spend much more than two hours inside the pickup truck, though. Right when they were sure they couldn't take any more, the hatch opened once more.

"Alright, bring em out, Steve," a gruff voice said. "They're bound and gagged so it's not like they can run, but I want them blindfolded."

Kendall's head snapped up from where it lay on Logan's shoulder. His stomach crawled with panic. He didn't want his friends to be blindfolded. What if they were taken away from each other? They would never even know it.

"Ok, come on kid," Steve said, and Kendall recognized him as the one with the southern accent who yelled at the scariest looking thug for killing somebody.

Kendall tried to inch his way back into the pickup truck to get away, but Steve grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him out. Kendall fell to the asphalt with a heavy thud. His hands tied behind his back kept him from catching himself.

Kendall groaned and gave his captors a dirty look, which was not the smartest idea, because the scary, slightly crazy looking thug scowled at him meanly and kicked him in the chest with his booted foot. Kendall cried out and took a wheezy breath. He wanted to clutch his chest but his restraints kept him from doing so.

Steve reached back in the pickup and pulled out little Carlos next. The Latino fell next to Kendall and scooted close to his side. The crazy-looking thug gave him a dirty look that seemed to just dare him to run.

"You boys better stay on this ground," he said menacingly. "Don't pull another stunt like earlier."

"Relax, Marcus," Steve said. "They're all tied up, they couldn't run if they wanted to."

Marcus just continued to glare and made a disgusting sound in his throat before spitting on the ground right next to Carlos. Carlos winced and leaned into Kendall's side.

"Alright pretty boy, you're next," Steve said, pulling him out. James landed on his hurt arm, causing him to whimper.

"Awe, what's the matter Barbie doll?" the thug who seemed to have some kind of problem with James taunted. "Man up, little girl."

James growled but Kendall lightly nudged him with his knee as a reminder to keep it cool.

"I'll walk with Kendall and James," Steve said. "Marcus, you take Logan and Alex, you take Carlos."

Marcus nodded and took out Logan, who screamed despite the gag in his mouth.

"Shut up, kid," Marcus said, giving the young boy a violent shake. "Can we just blindfold them and get this over with yet?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Alex said, sneering at James, who flinched away. The brunet had no idea what he had done to piss off this guy so much but it was seriously disturbing him.

Marcus took out some fabric from the back pocket of his jeans. Logan and Carlos gave a little whimper and huddled closer to Kendall. The blonde had no idea what to do. He literally couldn't do anything. It would be impossible to fight them off, and trying to would just get them into even more trouble. He had to just let his friends be blindfolded one by one, even though they looked terrified.

Before they tied them on, Kendall made sure to give each of them eye contact for a brief, panic-filled second. He gave them a look telling them that it would be alright, whatever happened. They gave a small nod and let the thugs blindfold them.

James and Kendall were grabbed the arms with a bruising grip and hauled to their feet, while Carlos was flung over Alex's shoulder and Logan was hoisted over Marcus', which made him feel extremely uncomfortable to be so close to a murderer.

They had no idea where they were going, but they were carried and dragged through a building of some sort. Finally, James and Kendall were halted while Logan and Carlos were set down. Steve forced James and Kendall onto the ground so it would be more difficult to run away before taking off their blindfolds.

"Where are we?" Kendall asked when his gag was finally untied

"None of your business, kid," Alex said.

"We'll untie you kids now," Steve said. "But if you even try to take off-"

"We'll slit your throats," Marcus threatened. The boys took the crazy guy very seriously.

"So unless you want to be tied up, I'd suggest you don't run, because ya'll are gonna be here a while," Steve said. The boys gulped and nodded, anxious to be free of the rough ropes digging into their skin.

The thugs cut the boys free and stood guard at the door of the small room that they were put in.

"Wait, where's my sister?" Kendall said before they could leave. He made a move to get to his feet but Marcus clenched a fist, warning him not to move. Kendall stayed on the ground and settled on giving him a dirty glare instead.

"Don't ask me, ask your daddy. He's the one who's got her," Steve asked. "She ain't my responsibility."

"I swear to God if she's hurt…" Kendall said through clenched teeth.

"You'll _what?"_ Marcus said. "We already proved we're stronger and faster than you. You can't do a thing, little boy."

"Better get comfy, kids. It's going to be a long night," Alex said.

Steve and Marcus giggled, which was pretty disturbing, and left the room. They heard heavy locks bolt the door and knew that they were literally stuck here.

The first several minutes in their new room was spent in stunned silence. None of them knew what to do or say while everything sunk in. They were kidnapped. Judging by how long they were in the pickup for, they were extremely far from home. Nobody knew where they were. They were imprisoned in a small, dirty, unfurnished room with no window and nothing but a dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"K-Kendall," Carlos whimpered, being the first to speak. Kendall turned to his small friend and tried to think of something comforting to say, but he couldn't.

"I don't know," Kendall said, burying his face in his knees.

"This is just great," James hissed. "I mean, are they serious right now? They're seriously going to keep us locked in this nasty, cold little room for God knows how long?" James, who had a tendency to be impulsive, jumped to his feet and started pounding on the heavy wooden door, yelling at the top of his lungs. He sounded pretty intimidating at that moment. "What the hell did we do to deserve this? Let us out! We didn't do anything!"

"James," Carlos said meekly, flinching each time his fist collided with the door. James ignored him for a couple of minutes before finally giving up. He pressed his back up against the door and scrunched his eyes shut, rubbing his forehead before sliding down to the floor and quieting down.

"Logie, are you ok?" Kendall asked, crawling over to where Logan sat hunched over on the cold floor, his legs crossed Indian style. Logan didn't answer. A single tear rolled down his cheek and Kendall wiped it away with his thumb.

"Tell us what happened," Carlos said, putting his hand of Logan's arm. Logan looked at his hand for a moment before shrugging it away. Carlos looked hurt by this, but Kendall patted his back.

"It's ok, Carlos. He just went through a lot back there. He'll open up in a bit. Won't you buddy?" Kendall said. Logan sniffled and lied down, covering his eyes with his hands, as if he was ashamed to let his friends see him cry.

"I'm tired," Carlos said. "But I'm scared to sleep."

"It's ok buddy, get some rest. I'll keep an eye on you guys," Kendall said. "You guys need to sleep."

Carlos yawned and put his head in Kendall's lap, desperate for sleep. He couldn't stay awake any longer if he wanted to.

"James, Logan you guys should go to sleep too," Kendall said when Carlos fell asleep.

James shook his head and Logan didn't answer. Kendall sighed and absentmindedly rubbed Carlos' back as time slowly ticked by. James stayed curled up at the door, wishing it would open so that they could get some answers. Logan had stopped crying for the most part, outside of the occasional tear or sniffle. Kendall felt his eyes droop heavily but refused to fall asleep. He was so worried about his little sister. The whole reason why they were in this situation was for Katie's safety and now he didn't even know where she was.

"James, are you doing ok?" Kendall asked after about an hour. Not that he could tell time in that room. What seemed like an hour could have only been a couple minutes, he didn't know. He kept an eye on Logan and James, making sure they were alright. Logan was in a quiet, withdrawn state, which wasn't unusual for him. But James' behavior concerned him. First, he had gotten angry. Then he immediately got completely quiet and now he was pale, resting his head on his palm.

"Mmhmm," James whispered, but he didn't seem ok.

"I know something's wrong," Kendall said. "You don't look so hot, dude. What's going on?"

James sighed. "My head hurts, and my arm, too. I don't know, I guess I don't feel good."

"C'mere," Kendall said, motioning James over. The brunet got up from in front of the door and sat down next to Kendall, who pulled his jacket sleeve up to reveal the burn on his arm. James whimpered in pain and tried to pull away but Kendall held his arm in place firmly.

"Dude, your burn," Kendall said sympathetically. "No wonder it hurts… Oh my God."

James' burn was seriously irritated from the abuse of the night. The blisters had been reopened and the area around it was scraped up. It was red and raw and bleeding, not to mention oozing a yellow liquid where the blisters were at its worst.

"James, this is bad," Kendall said. James frowned defensively and pulled his arm back to his chest, covering it back up with his jacket.

"It's fine, it'll heal up," James assured him.

"But you're hurt," Kendall said worriedly.

"So? Nothing you or I can do about it, bro. Just leave it be, it'll be fine," James said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. Kendall decided to let it go, because there truly was nothing he could do about it. There was no help available for any of them, and it was his fault that they were in this prison of a room in the first place.

"I'm worried more about Logan than I am myself," James said in more of a softer tone when he realized his mood had hurt Kendall.

"I'm ok," Logan assured them in a tiny voice. Kendall couldn't help but shake his head. When it came to his friends, it was always "I'm ok" and "Don't worry about me!" no matter if they were bleeding or crying or anything else that indicated that they were clearly not fine. Despite how frustrating it could be, Kendall couldn't blame them. He was the same exact way.

"What happened back there?" James asked, his voice pleading for Logan to tell them what exactly had gone on at the gas station. Logan swallowed, wincing at his dry throat.

"Marcus killed him," Logan said. "His name was Anthony. He couldn't have been older than you, Kendall. But he killed him and it's my fault…" Logan told them the details of the shooting at the gas station and by the time he was finished, he was in tears again. James and Kendall gathered the shuddering, sobbing boy in their arms, stroking his hair and rubbing his back to try to calm him down, and they stayed like that all night, finally falling asleep in each other's arms.

**A/N Well James isn't doing so good… Uhoh… and where in the SamHeck is Katie? Hope you all liked it! Have a great week! My recitals are only 5 days away and I am sooo so so excited, we've been working all year on these performances and I'm in more dances than I ever have been before. It's going to be the best day of the year! **

**Please review it makes me happier than a chipmunk with nuts! Yay!**


	21. Ultimatum

**A/N So, finally here is the update everyone's been asking for! I hope you likes it! Also, there's an appearance by someone we have been waiting to see for several chapters now in this one ;)**

Down the hall and around the corner of where the boys were imprisoned, and currently sleeping in fitful rests, was another room. It was smaller than the one they had been squished into, but it was pitch black and just as cold. The room was furnished with nothing. It only consisted of a cement floor and stone walls. The room was so silent, that if you were to enter, you probably wouldn't even notice the young girl sprawled on that freezing cement floor or the small pool of blood beneath her silken, auburn hair. It was too dark to notice the dried blood splattered on the dirty brown stone walls. But if one were to enter the tiny, makeshift prison and examine the room, they would most likely assume that the girl was dead. She was unconscious, and she had been severely beaten, and then starved, dehydrated and neglected for nearly three days. She didn't make a sound or move a muscle.

Only, she _wasn't_ dead, and eventually she had to wake up, which was the most terrifying and painful experience in her short 12 years. Agony seemed to coat each and every bone in her body and her organs throbbed in misery as her eyelids opened into tiny slits. A scream seemed to get stuck in her chest. It hurt too much to move or make a sound. Pain raged through her skull and the sickening, metallic taste of blood and bile was thick in her throat. The small girls' body had been kicked, tortured and ravaged. She was so _scared. _All she knew was that she had been taken, right out of bed. He had tied her up with scratchy, rough ropes and wrapped cloth over her eyes and tape on her mouth and brought her to this room. When the blindfold was removed, all the girl saw was bright green eyes that resembled Kendall's. Only these eyes were filled with malice and insanity. They weren't warm and gentle like her brothers.

The man with the green eyes had been cruel and terrible to her. He had beaten her for no reason and she was left alone in this claustrophobic room since then, slowly dying. But when she was unconscious, she had been unaware of the blinding pain and crippling weakness taking over her body. She _wished_ she was asleep. She wished she could even be dead, if it meant the pain would go away. But she was still far from death's door. It wasn't her time yet. Finally, the scream that had been building up, burning inside her chest, released itself. The most bloodcurdling, horrifying scream filled the mysterious building they were trapped in. It echoed off the walls and traveled to the room the sleeping boys were in, and followed by the scream were several cries for the one person the young, hurt girl could think of in her panicked state.

"_Kendall! __**Kendall!**_"

The shrieks brought Kendall out of his sleep with a startled jump. At first, the blonde thought he had been dreaming the heartbreaking sound. After all, he had been suffering a nightmare about his little sister. He was so worried for the little girl. He just wanted her back safely in his arms.

"Katie?" Kendall called. He coughed when his voice didn't come out very strong. His throat was sore from lack of water, and he still wasn't sure if it really was his sister or his imagination. He was groggy and still felt half asleep.

"_Kendaaallll!" _

This time, the shriek was longer, more desperate. Now Kendall knew he wasn't just imagining things. These cries of terror were real. Katie was calling for him. Katie was _here. _And she sounded hurt.

"K-Katie, I'm here baby sister!" Kendall yelled. He jumped to his feet, causing Logan, who had been nestled in his lap, to fall to the ground. The other boys stirred and groaned, waking up to Kendall's sudden excitement. They stared at him questioningly but he ignored them. The blonde was at the wall now, running his hands along the stone as if he could get to her that way. His voice broke as he called for his sister. But she never replied, and he started slapping the wall furiously, letting out an angry yell.

"Get me out of this room! I need to see my sister!" He screamed.

"Buddy, Katie's not here," James said in a tiny voice. He was huddled on the floor, with Carlos and Logan hanging off of his arms. To be honest, they were all a little afraid of Kendall when he got this mad.

"Yes, she is here! I heard her!" Kendall yelled as he whipped around to face James. The brunet clutched the younger boys and cowered back a bit at the look in Kendall's emerald eyes. His usually pale skin was beet red with anger and his hands curled into tight fists.

"She's here," Kendall repeated, only this time it was a whisper and it broke off into a quiet sob. He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose as he tried to collect his thoughts. Completely losing his sanity was no help to getting Katie back.

Once again, Katie screamed for her brother. Her voice was filled with pain. It brought tears to Kendall's eyes.

"Katie?" James said in amazement and horror.

"Oh my God… What are they doing to her?" Logan asked, gripping James' arm at the bone-chilling scream.

"I don't know but she's probably scared to death!" Kendall said. He suddenly felt dizzy and overwhelmed, so he slowly slid to the floor and put his hands on top of his head, resting his forehead on his knees. "I-I need to save her guys… We gotta get out of here!"

Kendall looked up when he heard loud banging on the door. James was pummeling the door again. This time, Carlos and Logan didn't even try to stop him. They wanted to get out just as badly as he did. And when it came to Katie's safety, it was useless to stop James from doing anything.

Suddenly, James' incessant pounding ceased and the door creaked open. Alex stood before the brunet and he didn't look too happy. James was a pretty big boy, but Alex seemed like a giant compared to the teenager. James stumbled back a bit, taken by surprise. He didn't actually think anybody would be listening to him.

Alex sneered at the frightened, shell-shocked boys for a moment. And then in a blur of movement, Kendall was sprinting across the room and attacking Alex with his fists. James' honey brown eyes widened. Kendall had to be pretty brave and stupid to pull a stunt like that, but James must have been just as stupid because he joined Kendall in the attack. They were blinded by rage and fear. Carlos and Logan shouted for them to stop, because the two smaller boys could see something snap in Alex's eyes. The large man pushed James off of him and more or less threw Kendall across the room. The blonde skidded on the ground, almost to Logan's feet. Logan leaned forward to help Kendall, who clutched his arm, his face screwed up in pain. Kendall tried to get back up, but Logan held his weakened body down easily. When Alex had thrown Kendall down, it had knocked the breath out of him, and he needed to get air back into his sore lungs.

"No Kendall you're just making it worse!" Logan cried. Kendall audibly growled, but he knew Logan was right. Pissing off Alex wasn't the smartest idea.

James had different plans.

"Where's our sister?" James demanded, getting back to his feet and looking upwards, so he could stare Alex in the eye. He wasn't about to back down this easily. He knew Alex could easily defeat him, but he was going to put up a fight. He would do anything to get Katie back.

Alex didn't answer James. Instead, he closed the door behind him and locked it. He took a step forward so his large chest was touching James'.

James didn't even flinch.

"Sit down, pretty boy." Alex told him simply.

"I'm not doing anything until I get our sister back," James told him. Alex brought back his hand and slapped James with brute strength, causing the brunet's head to jerk to the side. Pain ripped through James' cheek. It felt like his skin was on fire and he wondered if Alex broke the skin, but he didn't even care right now. All he wanted was Katie.

"James please," Logan whimpered when he heard the sound of his friend being slapped. James ignored Logan and looked back at Alex.

Alex smirked when he realized James would be a challenge. "You're going to be a fun one, ain't you pretty boy?"

James was seething. He _hated_ being called pretty boy, but he hated Katie being messed with even more.

Kendall was panting for breath and struggling to get up again, but Logan was still holding him down.

"Please, give her back," Kendall said, finally giving up on trying to stand back up. He collapsed in Logan's arms. He felt like he was about to lose it emotionally. They had been through so much already, and now his sister was hurt and scared and so freaking close yet he couldn't reach her. How could things possibly get any worse?

"It's not up to me whether you see your precious sister again or not," Alex said. "Boss man's in charge. Boss man is Kendall's daddy. And he sent me in here to quiet you boys."

"You mean David is here too?" Kendall asked. He felt a little rush of hope combined with fear. He was terrified of his father, though he would never admit it. But it was also the key he needed to saving Katie and getting out of here. "Let me see him! Please, I beg of you, let me talk to him!"

"No can do, kiddo," Alex said. He was taking off his leather belt and the boy's eyed him suspiciously, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" James asked, taking a step back.

"You don't think you kids can act like this without punishment, do you?" Alex asked. He had a playful glint in his ice cold eyes, like he was excited about something. "Take off your shirt, James and Kendall. Daddy's orders."

"What? No," James said, disgusted.

"Look, I'm just doing what my boss tells me to do. He doesn't take it when you kids act up as well as me or Steve or Marcus do. So he told me to give you kids an ultimatum. Take your punishment, which is 10 lashes with my belt, or see boss man himself. So, which one?"

James gulped. He looked at his friends nervously. Carlos reached out for James' hand with tears in his eyes.

"Don't hurt him," Carlos pleaded. Logan shushed Carlos quickly so that he wouldn't receive punishment too.

James mouthed the words "I'll be fine" to his little brother and took off his shirt as he was told, facing his punishment fearlessly. The boys watched helplessly as Alex instructed James to stand in front of the wall, bracing his hands on the stone. He closed his eyes and waited for the lashes to come.

The belt was made of thin leather, which only made the beating hurt worse. Alex whipped James' skin harshly. Each strike made a sickening noise. Carlos was crying quietly at the sight of James being beaten, and Logan had to look away. By the 5th strike, the delicate, tan skin on James' back broke and blood oozed out. But James did not make a sound. He refused to whimper or let a tear fall or even cringe. When Alex finished, he simply put his shirt back on and sat down next to Carlos, who he took into his arms, rubbing his quivering back gently to get him to calm down.

'I'm alright," James assured him, even though he really wasn't. His back hurt terribly and he wanted to cry. He wanted to go _home._

"You're turn, Knight," Alex said, holding the now bloody whip up. Kendall scowled at him and stood up.

"You said we have a choice, right?" Kendall asked. "To be whipped or see my father? Well, take me to him."

"Kendall, no-" Logan gasped. Kendall held his hand up to shush him. Alex just smiled.

"Ok, Knight," Alex said. He was obviously amused by Kendall's decision. "Come with me."

**A/N Sorry I have to leave it there, I gotta go to work *dodges the stones you cast upon me* I loveee yew guysssss! Leave me a review if you please. It doesn't even have to say anything much, really. Just like, "'sup". Or, "this story is really weird and you're kind of a freak". Or you can even go on a huge schpeal about your day or your weekend or whatever I don't even really care. But yeah I would really love a review ;) New reviewers are fun too! So go ahead and comment, I won't bite or nothing! In fact, I might hug you really big. Hope you like it so far! xoxoxoxo**


	22. Desperation

**A/N Updating as quick as I can because I feel like everyone hates me for making them wait so long for an update. I know, I'm a terrible person. I've just been busy! But I love you guys and I'm dedicated to ya'll so guess who's dead tired and staying up all night even though she has work at the buttcrack of dawn to write this? ;) Plus I like, freaking cut my finger open playing laser quest last night so it's awkward and painful to type so beware of typos. **

**Omg so before we start the story, my friend and I decided to go to Dallas to go see Pauli D (idk much about him, my friend is a big fan of his) so we are going to go chill at a nightclub with him cuz I guess we have vips or whatever, and total coinkydink that I didn't even notice- I will be in Dallas the DAY BTR will be playing their show! I know the show is sold out, but I'm gonna try to get tix somehow, and afterwards we are going to follow the tour bus back to Tulsa and creepily take pics of them at every pitstop because I we are freaks and YOLO. I just realized this today and freaked out. Am I crazy? Gosh I am crazy lol.**

**Enjoy this update, I hope love ya!**

"Kendall, don't leave us…" Logan reached for his best friend and leaders arm, grabbing onto the sweaty hand and gripping tightly. Kendall was scared, Logan could tell right away by the way his hand trembled, the way he swallowed hard as if he had something stuck in his throat. But Kendall kept that strong, fearless façade etched upon his chiseled features. He looked into Logan's wet brown eyes and gave him a trusting look that clearly read "I love you." Small, pale fingers slipped away from longer, slender ones as Kendall stepped forward towards Alex, giving the vile man a challenging glare.

"Where is he?" Kendall growled. Alex grabbed the blonde by his shoulder roughly.

"Follow me," Alex said, and just like that, Kendall was gone without even a second look back. Kendall knew if he looked back, he would break and wouldn't have the guts to actually go through with his plan.

The boys were left alone now. The wooden door had slammed shut with a loud, dull thud and each boy could feel their stomachs churn as the lock turned on the other side.

Kendall glanced back at the room his friends were in, fear creeping through his veins. He felt strange leaving his friends behind, and he prayed he would not have to regret this decision.

As Kendall made his way down the hall with Alex, who still had a bone-crushing grip on his shoulder, he observed his new prison. The halls were narrow and dark, made of the same stone and concrete as his room was. There were no windows. Kendall could not tell if he was in a basement, or on the top floor of a large building. There was no way of knowing. The air was thick, stale. He almost choked on the taste. The few lights in the place were dim, giving the building an overall eerie ambiance. Wherever he was, it was definitely not the most pleasant place to be and it certainly wasn't comforting. Kendall felt like he was in some kind of horror movie right now.

As the scared boy and gruff thug passed a closed door, Kendall thought he heard soft sobs and stopped right in his tracks, his sneakers scuffing on the smooth concrete floor.

"Hey, keep walking kid," Alex growled when he tripped over Kendall's still feet. The fat fingers on Kendall's shoulder squeezed tighter, sending waves of pain down his arm. He was sure his arm was about to go numb any moment, but Kendall didn't care. He didn't move. He just stood there, listening carefully through the thick wooden door.

It was the same sound Kendall only heard once in his life, when he was much younger. They had been in a car accident, Kendall and his mom and sister. It was a pretty bad wreck. It had been late at night and his mother had lost control of the car when she saw a deer. They ended up rolled over in a ditch, and even though- thank God- they were all ok, Katie had been hurt and his mother had been unconscious. Kendall's sister was so scared and hurt that she was sobbing uncontrollably as they waited for an ambulance.

Besides the wreck, Kendall had never heard Katie actually _sob _before but right now those exact same heart wrenching sounds were emitting through the door that Kendall stood directly in front of. His sister was _in_ there, mere feet from her salvation.

That was when Kendall lost it. All rationality was gone, any plans to be brave and face his father and bribe him into letting him see Katie, It was all gone, replaced by an over protective rage he never felt before. His arms flailed as he struggled to work the lock open. He was screaming for Katie until his voice broke and his throat gave out. Alex was trying to pull the skinny boy back by the waist while yelling at him to stop, or else his punishment would be much, much worse. But Kendall didn't care what his punishment, or what those psychos did to him. He wanted to save his sister. He needed her in his arms. Kendall would gladly take the worst pain for that little girl.

"Let me see her!" Kendall cried. It was a mix between a sob and a scream. Alex winced at Kendall high-pitched voice, dodging the punches he was throwing. The young boy was putting up quite a fight.

Suddenly, Kendall was released from Alex's grip and he struggled with the lock. It was a losing battle. Kendall didn't have the key and Alex was getting angrier. He whipped out his walkie talkie and spoke into it.

"Steve, Marcus! I need you up here in the hall outside of the boy's room. Kendall needs to be tamed… Over."

Kendall was hardly aware of the raspy, static voices behind him. He continued to heave his body into the door, surely bruising his shoulder as he did so, in hopes of breaking it down.

"_I'll bring the stuff,"_ A gruff voice said over the radio.

Kendall was crying now, hot tears streaming down his heated cheeks as he clawed at the door. His sister was crying his name too, pleading for him to help her. But the door wouldn't budge.

"Please," Kendall said breathlessly, hysterically. "I'll do anything! Just let me have her back."

Suddenly, two pairs of arms snaked themselves around Kendall's waist and pulled him from the door.

"No, Katie!" He shrieked, kicking his legs, throwing his head back in hopes of knocking his captor's out. But they were so much stronger then he was. Kendall just felt so weak. Something sharp stabbed his forearm and he whimpered. The pain ebbed away quickly into a stinging sensation. Kendall pulled his arm away to look at what was causing the pain to find a needle jabbed in his veins.

The fuckers _poisoned_ him.

Kendall looked up wearily at whoever was holding him. He made out the blurry, sinister outlines of Steve and Marcus. His head was swimming and his vision was slowly starting to run together, like ink on paper.

"Wh-what did you do to me?" Kendall slurred. Sleep was tugging at him now, begging for him to just close his eyes. The thought was tempting. He would finally be peaceful. But what about his friends, left stranded in that tiny cell of a room? What were David's goons going to do to them while he was gone? What if he couldn't save Katie in time, because he succumbed to whatever poison was pumping through his veins?

"Good night Kendall," Alex said tauntingly. Kendall tried to shake his head, but he felt like his limbs were weighed down. Finally, his knees buckled and Steve caught him swiftly. The feeling of having to rely on such messed up, evil men, depending on their arms to keep him outright, was downright sickening to Kendall. He wanted them to let go of him. But Kendall's body could no longer keep up the fight. He was screaming on the inside, begging himself to stay awake, but finally, he slipped into unconsciousness.

Alex, Steve and Marcus chuckled and dragged his lifeless body away.

**~Scene change~**

Logan was worried. His stomach felt like a tight knot as he thought of Kendall. It hadn't been too long since Kendall had opted to see his father, but every minute felt like an hour.

Logan was mad at Kendall. Or he wanted to be mad, anyway. They were all alone now. They _needed _Kendall, and they would shamelessly admit that. Kendall was the glue, their rock, their hero. They relied on him for comfort, for safety. When everyone else was too scared out of their wits to think properly, Kendall was always there to keep them calm and stay level headed. But now that they lost that cool, collected figure, their group was falling apart.

James became silent after his beatings. He sat on the floor, staring at the wall with a dazed look in his glassy hazel eyes. His cheeks were flushed scarlet and his mouth was one hard, steady thin line.

Carlos was like a tiny, vulnerable puppy. He shivered endlessly, from the cold temperatures and shock combined. He watched James with trepidation, wondering if he should dare bother the sullen brunet, despite how desperately he needed the older boy's comfort and how badly he wanted to know if he was ok. James just did not seem ok.

Logan tried to distract himself from thinking about his big brothers safety, Carlos' health, and James' over all state of mind. He wanted to tend to James' wounds, but there wasn't anything he could do for the bleeding gashes. They needed a first aid kit, food, water. Hunger was gnawing at Logan's stomach, making his gut physically hurt. From across the room, Carlos' tummy grumbled loudly. He was beginning to feel sleepy, too. He had no plans of falling asleep, but the little brunet curled up on the floor and wrapped his arms around his middle to keep warm.

"Hey Logie?" A tiny voice said his name just as he closed his eyes.

"Hmm?" Logan said, opening one eyelid. Carlos came crawling over to his side. His eyes were filled with fear. Logan sat up quickly, concerned.

"What… What if Kendall doesn't come back, Logie?"

"Don't say that, of course he will!" Logan said, almost scolding the young boy. Carlos blinked once before crystal tears filled up his dark chocolate orbs.

"He'll come back for us, Carlos. He's fine, he has to be fine," Logan said. Without warning, Logan's small body trembled with sobs. Carlos was quick to react, always one to comfort his buddies in their time of need. He leaned forward and gathered Logan in his arms, making hushing noises. The brunet sobbed hard into Carlos' chest, immediately dampening the warm fabric of his shirt. He clung to Carlos for dear life. He was shaking so hard, he was afraid his body would be torn apart.

Logan just wanted to forget it all. He was beyond traumatized, yet he was still trying so hard to keep it together. But one by one, he felt his stitches unraveling. Being shoved in the bed of a pickup truck and kidnapped to God knows where, having to watch a young guy get _shot _in front of him for something _he_ did wrong, watching James get beaten and Carlos slowly get his innocence ripped away from everything these men were putting them through. Knowing Kendall and Katie were somewhere, hurt and probably alone and that they might not come back- it was all too much for Logan.

Something angry boiled in the pit of Logan's stomach. It was uncomfortable and made his blood feel hot. He realized that what he was feeling amidst the fear and confusion was hate. He literally _hated _David for doing this to them, his perfect little circle of friends. He was torturing them for no reason. He was trying to tear them apart. How long would it be before Carlos was next to go, or James? Or even himself? What if that was part of the plan? To get them all separated, because anybody who knows those boys, knows that they cannot function without each other. Their greatest strength and their greatest weakness combined was each _other. _They were most vulnerable when they weren't together. Forcing them to watch one of their friends being beaten and then separating them was the perfect way to break the boys down, one by one. Logan knew this, and David obviously knew this too, judging by the sick games he was playing. How long were they going to be forced to endure this torture?

"We need to stick together," Logan said through his waterfall of tears. Carlos frowned and wiped Logan's tears off his cheeks with his thumb and gave him a questioning look. "We need to get Kendall back, and then we have to stay by each other's sides. We can't leave each other."

"I'm not going to leave you," Carlos said innocently. He was rocking Logan now, stroking his hair back with his chubby fingertips. Logan closed his eyes and hugged Carlos tightly. "Ssh, it's ok Logan."

Logan willed the sobbing to go away. He pushed away the images of the gas station that kept repeating themselves over and over in the back of his mind, because it was only ruining him more and more. He couldn't think of this stuff right now, he had to keep a clear, strong head on his shoulders if he wanted to get through whatever David had planned for them.

Several moments later, Logan was relaxing against Carlos, who continued to stroke his hair. Carlos was a never-ending giver of comfort. He was the type of person who would hold you all night until the sun came up, or sing lullabies to you until his throat was sore. Right now, the gentle motion of Carlos' hands in Logan's hair grew slower with each passing minute. They were falling asleep. Both were so close to peaceful oblivion when a scream tore through the halls, startling the exhausted boys awake.

"What?" Carlos asked, rubbing his eyes. Logan sat up, alert. The scream had made his heart race in apprehension. Even James had broken his gaze from the wall, glancing at the smaller boys with a wild, nervous look in his eyes. His chapped lips tried to form a word, but his voice broke. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"You guys… That scream… It's Kendall."

**A/N Dun dun dun! I am so evil haha! If I were you guys I would hate my guts seriously omg but I know you love me so it's ok teehee. I hope you liked the quick update Please review to make my day a little (actually, A LOT) brighter. Love yew guyzzzz!**


	23. Poison

**A/N OMG. You guys are going to make me cry. Last chapter had over 30 reviews! That's so amazing! I love you guys so much! Thanks to every single one of you and lots of hugs!**

Something cold and tight was holding Kendall's wrists and ankles down painfully. He was aware of the pain before he was even fully awake. It might have been what actually made him come to. They were clutching his skin so tightly that as he started to stir, the metal binds cut into his skin. He let out a groan and laid still. His heart was beating so fast and his head felt heavy and dizzy. His eyelids felt like they were made of lead. Whatever David's goons injected him with was starting to wear off, but it was a slow, sickening process. Only one thing was on his mind, though.

_Katie._

He hadn't saved her, had he? He let those idiot bastards take him down and now his sister was alone again. He had fucked up, big time. It had been his only chance…

"Hey, blondie's waking up, David," a gruff voice said.

_David?_ That meant his father was in this room, right here with him. Kendall forced his eyes opened and winced as the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling nearly blinded him, sending waves of pain through his aching head.

"D-David," Kendall groaned hoarsely. He blinked furiously, willing his surroundings to come into focus. He could see the dark outline of his father across the room, but it was a bit blurry.

As David approached Kendall with an unsettling grin plastered on his face, he couldn't help but wonder what the crazed man would do to him. He was scared, and he knew a punishment was coming. Kendall was lying strapped down to a hard table. There was nowhere for him to run, nothing he could do.

"Kendall, my boy," David said, gazing at his child with icy green eyes. Kendall broke eye contact and looked away. Cold beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and his heart fluttered nervously. David's clammy, large fingers stroked the boy's forehead. Kendall felt absolutely nauseous.

"David… Katie," Kendall said weakly. He couldn't quite form a coherent sentence yet. Kendall was doped up, unpleasantly high. The room was spinning around him and he could hardly think.

"Ssh, I'm right here," David said. His fingers were absent-mindedly curling in Kendall's sweaty, stringy bangs, making the younger boy feel uncomfortable. Kendall whimpered and turned his head away, squeezing his eyes shut. He called out James' name on instinct, even though he knew fully well that James was locked up somewhere far away from him.

"Do you know why you're here, Kendall?" David asked softly. Kendall didn't answer. He was too busy trying to hide his sheer panic and fear. David didn't seem to mind, he just continued talking. "Because my buddies told me you were acting naughty, stubborn, recklessly. Everything would be ok if you had just done as you were told. But now it's going to get much worse."

"D-don't hurt me," Kendall slurred, fighting to stay awake.

"Oh, Kendall, I'm not going to hurt you. That's too _easy," _David said. "I had something else in mind for your punishment, something that I know would make you learn very quickly to obey your father."

Kendall stared at David dazedly. He watched as the evil man pulled out something tiny and brownish in color and held it out for him to see. Kendall managed to arch a cocky eyebrow and scowled.

"S-so? It's a bean," Kendall coughed out. Kendall was still scared out of his mind at his father's cryptic tone, but he was so tired and getting annoyed.

"This is a caster bean, Kendall."

Kendall blinked wearily. He vaguely remembered hearing that word before, maybe in school a while back, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was in his drugged up, foggy mind.

"Did you know there's a deadly poison called ricin in this little tiny bean, so deadly in fact that if you were to chew just one of these right now you would die within hours. It attacks the cells in your bodies one by one. First you'll start vomiting uncontrollably and running fevers. You'll suffer from severe dehydration and low blood pressure. And then the hallucinations and the seizures start, and your organs will shut down. Kidneys, liver, even your spleen. They'll all just die."

"Wh-what're you saying?" Kendall asked, alarmed. Was his father planning on making him eat this bean?

"It's a bit difficult to make ricin, it's a process but my buddies know how to do it. They extracted the poison, just the tiniest amount, and mixed it with water. It's absolutely tasteless and odorless, so one would think it's just a plain, glass of water." David picked up a water bottle and showed it to Kendall. David was right. It looked harmless, but Kendall knew it wasn't. "There isn't enough to kill a person in here. Just enough to get them sick, sick enough to wish they were dead, maybe. But they would live. Unless I had to punish this person more than once. By maybe the third or fourth dose, that person would die, definitely…

"Why do you look so scared, Kendall? I told you before, you're not the one I'm punishing for your actions."

Kendall felt his stomach twist in fear. Who the hell was David talking about? Was he about to poison his friends?

"Don't you fucking touch them," Kendall said angrily. David looked amused.

"Who? You're baby, gay-as-fuck little brothers?"

"Don't talk about them like that, so help me God-"

"God? I don't think even God can help you now, if He even existed. You're on your own here, Kendall. Think of it as your own personal hell. And you don't need to worry about Carlos, James and Logan… At the moment, anyway. I think you should be more concerned for your sister, if I were you, you little brat."

"Katie," Kendall breathed. Suddenly, the drugs in his system seemed to wear off from adrenaline and he struggled against his restraints, ignoring the metal that cut into his skin. "Oh God… Where is she?"

"Look that way," David said, pointing behind Kendall. The blonde had to arch his back and turn up his chin in an awkward, uncomfortable position, but there she was, his little Katie, laying still behind him on a table like he was, her tiny wrists and ankles secured. Kendall couldn't tell if she was just asleep or unconscious.

"**Katie**!" Kendall bellowed.

"That won't do much good, she's passed out from exhaustion, her body is starting to shut down after what I put her through," David explained. "She's suffering from hunger and dehydration and blood loss. With her weakened state, I would be careful how much poison she has to take, Kendall. It's up to you how much she drinks. Because every time you fuck up, Kendall, she will be punished. I'm sure she wouldn't be able to last more than three doses, maybe even just two. She's just a little girl, after all. So frail."

David was slowly walking towards Katie as he spoke. Rage bubbled beneath Kendall's skin as he tossed his body and fought uselessly against the restraints and he screamed in terror.

"Her first drink of water in a very long time," David said.

"No! Don't do it, I'll kill you! _I'll kill you!"_ Kendall screamed. David ignored his constant screaming and tilted Katie's head upward, then placed the bottle to her lips. The poisonous liquid slowly dripped into her mouth and she swallowed on reflex, desperate for water. David continued this until the bottle was half gone and she was coughing, choking on the tainted water.

"Enough, stop!" Kendall cried, taking a different approach. "David, I'll be good! I won't be naughty anymore, I'll listen to you just please, stop! You're going to kill her!"

David glanced at Kendall, than frowned, because he didn't give him exactly what he wanted. David squirted another sip of water into Katie's open mouth. "My name's not David to you, Kendall."

Kendall was seething. Through clenched teeth, he said, "I'll be good, _dad."_

"Only if you promise."

"I promise, dad please stop," Kendall said. He hated to be reduced to begging but he would do anything it took for him to stop poisoning Katie.

Finally, David stopped the slow trickle of water in Katie's mouth and put the bottle down. He looked over at Marcus, who pressed a button, and Kendall's restraints were released. He jumped off the table, wavering on his feet, and ran to his little sisters sleeping, abused body.

"Oh God, Katie," he said with a sob.

"Bring them back to their rooms," David commanded Marcus.

Katie was released from her restraints as well. Kendall lifted her body up, a dead weight in his shaking, tired arms, yet she was still light as a feather. He clutched her to his chest like a mother would her hurt toddler and cried into her shoulder.

"Don't let this happen again Kendall," David warned.

Marcus grabbed Kendall by the shoulder and led him back to his room.

Finally, Kendall had his sister back.

**A/N Woot Katie's back! But next chap, things are going to get pretty bad :/ Please review, let's get this to 400 reviews yeehaw! I love you all! Smooches!**


	24. Sick

A/N I am sooo sorry for the wait on this, I have been SO busy! But hopefully this chappie makes up for it! Thanks for every review and read on the last chapter! Oh, and even though I posted my concert thingie in another sotry, I'll post it again in case anyone who wants to hear about it didn't read it! So if you have read it, just go ahead and skip over it. If you haven't heard what happened, well here are the AMAZING details haha it was the best day of my lifeee.

Ok it started off awesome (duh) the soundcheck was hilarious. The guys made fun of Carlos for being scared of ketchup, and there were all these loud explosions and I jumped to the ceiling and Kendall pointed at me and said "gotcha!" lol. Everyone says he was staring at me a lot, he's so creepy, anyway the explosions happened again and the boys were seriously freaked out and Carlos was jumping out of his skin. Every time they would try to start the song, there would be another explosion so they were like fine we just weren't meant to play the song lol. And another one happened and Kendall said "I JUST PEED." And Logan literally fell off his chair laughing and he turned beet freaking red. And he said "TOO MUCH KENDALL. TOO MUCH." And we all literally had to wait five minutes for him to stop rolling on the floor cackling and hyperventilating so they could start the song lol. Oh and James thought he was Christopher Walken all day omg. So then, we were all in line for pics and I was bouncing off the walls and being weird and pretending to steal food from the catering hall and Dustin like casually squeezed past me all shy and I was like "…Wait, is that Dustin?" and he like quietly crept away like a ninja, I swear Dbelt is a ninja, he was everywhere. Every time I turned around, he was there. And then we finally got in this tight claustrophobic smelly little room filled with evil security rat guards and the people ahead of me were finishing, I was next in line and jumping up and down and I like, assumed this silly runners stance because I didn't want to go before I was supposed to but I was anxious, so Kendall saw me and laughed and mimicked my pose so we were both staring each other down in these stupid poses about 5 feet from each other, ready to attack each other and the security guards were like, "you're turn" and Kendall opened his arms as wide as the ocean and smiled like a gorgeous angel and I ran into his arms and he caught me so tightly and we just laughed for like, ever while rocking each other and he told me he loved me. Than Logan squeezed in and gave me a big ol' hug and called me sweetie, he was like "Hi sweetie how are you" and I said "mffff fuckk you're so hot" jk no I didn't lol I forgot what I said but it was probably dumb cuz I'm really dumb and not very shy. Then we took a derf picture and then a security guard shooed me away and I turned back around and went to James and the security guard just said lamely: "hey.." lol I ignored him and hugged James, who called me a sweetheart, and then I skipped out of there and rolled around on the floor for a while. THEN it was time for the concert and Cody Simpson who is Australian sex omg he was sooo good OH and I had a wristband to be right up at the freaking stage THE WHOLE CONCERT I'm so freaking lucky, so Cody just like stared me down and it was kind of weird but I was just dancing and he was watching me like a hawk. He's hot. Boy can dance. I almost didn't want him to leave the stage! But then BTR came on and it was like dance party, best night of my life, coolest concert ever and all this and it was like amazing I can't even describe how good their show is. Logan kept being a turkey and coming up to me and posing for pics and smiling. Carlos gave me his tinkle-wave and he blew me a kiss and that literally made me cry because holy crap my dreams were coming true right in front of me like Carlos saw me and knew I existed and blew me a kiss! And then they went into the audience for halfway there and stuff and Kendall high fived me and so did Carlitos :') Carlos and James also filmed me for an awkwardly long time with their camera, they filmed me dancing and I could see myself on the screen and they were laughing and I was like jerrrkkksss lol. And it was James' b-day so there were lots of jokes and gosh the boys are just so damn funny. And then some fans and I after the show went around back to the buses and a couple other girls and I created what I named the "James Maslow Birthday Riot of '12" and we made up all these random birthday songs and sang them forever (we were there til midnight) and finally they all came out with Fox and Sydney and Carlos had his Segway and Logan had his skate board and Kendall was shirtless and James was James lol. And that was my dream BTR date and it better not be my last cuz lemme tell you, it is worth every single stinking penny. It was the most amazing thing EVER. I am still sooooo happy. I can still feel Kendall cuddling me and rocking me. And Logan was sooo sexy and sweet and James omg he's like a solid rock and the sweetest dude ever, he just has this gentle voice and demeanor that makes you feel all safe inside. They give you the best, fuzzy feeling omg.

The wooden door to their tiny cell opened slowly with a loud creaking noise. Carlos looked up in fear and huddled closer to Logan. He had no idea who would come through that door or what would happen to them. More whippings, or something worse? Or maybe somebody finally saved them? Either way, he certainly wasn't suspecting a worn Kendall to be pushed into the room with Katie, who looked frighteningly close to death, clutched to his chest.

At first, James, Logan and Carlos just sat there with their mouths agape in shock, too scared to move. But then, Kendall's body wavered dangerously and his eyes fluttered rapidly, as if he was about to pass out.

James was on his feet in a flash. He wrapped one arm around Kendall to keep him from collapsing and hurting himself, while the other scooped up Katie. He slowly lowered them to the ground and cradled them gently.

"Oh God… Kendall stay awake, bro. Don't faint… Logan!"

Logan blinked out of his stunned stupor and timidly scooted to James, letting Kendall fall in his lap. He patted his cheek and spoke to him softly to keep him awake.

"He's so cold, James…" Logan said worriedly. "I think he's in shock or something."

"D-drugged me," Kendall said, forcing his eyes to stay open. Logan's lap was warm and he was comforted knowing Logan was holding him, but he was still wildly afraid for his sister. "Katie, they poisoned her…"

"Poisoned?" Logan asked.

"R-ricin?" Kendall said. He could barely remember the name of the poison. Things were getting really blurry and he didn't feel good. He was scared.

Logan's eyes widened. The brunet wondered if he heard him right. Kendall's head lulled onto Logan's shoulder as he finally fell asleep, so he couldn't ask him if he was sure it was ricin.

"What's ricin?" James asked. He had Katie in his lap and was stroking her hair from her face. She looked wretched, her face was a disturbing pale gray and her scalp was caked with blood. He almost couldn't stand to look at her so… So _broken._ The closest thing to a baby sister James ever had was lying cold and still in his arms, and right now he was truly afraid she would not make it through the night.

"It's a deadly poison," Logan explained. His voice was low and shaky. "God, what have they done to her?"

"They hurt her bad, Logan," James said, and his voice was filled with remorse. He couldn't believe it. He carefully checked Katie over for broken bones and injuries. Her delicate skin was marred with purple bruises, mostly around her ribcage area, but also on her skinny legs and arms. Somebody had beaten her. It made James sick. Who would do such a thing to an innocent girl?

"W-we need help," James said, swallowing thickly. "We need medical supplies for Kendall and Katie. They can't just let us die in here."

"That won't happen," Logan said, stroking Kendall's blonde hair. He didn't sound very sure, though. He knew it was just a matter of time before Katie reacted to the poison. Kendall was out cold, not to mention James was looking pale and exhausted from his minor concussion and infected arm. They were cold, and starving for food and water.

Again, the door knob rattled and clicked, and the door swung open. The three conscious boys looked up blankly, too weak to react with fear. James recognized the men who slowly walked in to be Steve. The relieved James a little bit, at least it wasn't Marcus, who hated James' guts for no reason, or Alex, who was just plain insane.

"Well shit," Steve said when he first looked at the pile of ragged children on the floor. The boys just blinked and cowered a bit. "They're gonna kill you kids if they continue with this…"

"What do you care?" James said hoarsely. Logan gave James a warning glare while Carlos just scooted into James' side, trying to hide.

"Well if I wanted you dead, would I be bringing you this?' Steve said sarcastically, digging around in his side-pack and holding out water bottles. Carlos' eyes widened and reached out, desperate for water, but James held him back.

"No Carlos, we don't know what's in that water!"

"Relax, they're sealed bottles," Steve said. He continued to hold out the bottles, but when none of the kids made a move to take them, he rolled his eyes and approached them. On reflex, they whimpered and flinched backwards.

"Jumpy, aren't we?" Steve said, putting the bottles on the ground, along with a few buckets.

"Can you blame us?" James said through clenched teeth. He brought Carlos and Logan in closer to him, assuming the role of protective brother since Kendall was out cold.

"What are the buckets for?" Carlos asked.

"So you kids can pee," Steve said simply. He took out some sliced bread and put it next to the water.

"Why are you doing this for us?" Logan asked, wondering if this guy had an ulterior motive. Steve just shrugged.

"It's my job to keep you kids alive while David is off being a homicidal maniac. I'll be back in the morning with more food and water."

Steve turned around to leave.

"Wait," James said. "Please. Is Katie going to be okay?"

"She'll live," Steve said, and it was obvious he was avoiding the direct question. But "She'll live" was not good enough for James.

"What's going to happen to her?" James asked impatiently.

"Look, kid, she's gonna get pretty sick. Just keep her hydrated and she'll be better by tomorrow. David didn't give her too much poison. But if I were you guys, I'd start listening to David. He's not like me. He won't blink an eye if one of you kids end up dead. Just do what he says. Because he'll keep poisoning that little girl until you do."

Steve gave them one last long, hard glare and left the room, leaving the kids shrouded with ominous fright.

"At least we have food and water," Logan said.

"But Katie, she's already burning up," James said, pressing his hand against her sweaty forehead.

"She'll be ok James," Carlos said, swiping a gentle thumb across her dirt-smudged cheek. "She has to be."

James squeezed his eyes shut in frustration and looked up from Katie's body to see Logan squirming uncomfortably, eyeing the buckets that Steve had brought for them. "Logan, what's the matter?"

"Do you have to pee, Logie?" Carlos asked. Logan shook his head, his cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

"It's ok, I do too," Carlos said.

"I don't have to go," Logan said quickly, as if he could ignore the pressure in his bladder and wait until they actually could use a normal restroom, which was most likely to be never. Logan tried to shake that thought of his mind though.

"Don't be embarrassed," Carlos told him. "We can go together."

Logan gave Carlos a disgusted "really?" look. Carlos just shrugged. "Not _literally_together. Come on, we have to go sometime. I'll go in that corner and you go in the one over there."

"Fine," Logan breathed. Carlos and Logan retrieved the buckets and went to separate corners.

"I can't believe we have to be subjected to this humiliation," Logan mumbled. "Nobody listen to me pee."

"Nobody's listening," James said. Logan always had a big modesty problem when it came to stuff like this. He never would shower in locker rooms or anything like that. "We're all bro's here, it's ok dude."

"What if we have to poop?" Carlos asked suddenly as he peed in his bucket. James closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You _hold_ it," James said. He would have been amused if he wasn't so worried over Katie. The little girl was starting to shiver violently in his arms. She gave a sudden thrash with her legs and cried out in pain.

"Ssh, it's ok Katie, I'm right here," James said, holding the girl tightly. She was whimpering consistently now, fidgeting in her sleep and giving another kick of her legs.

"What's happening?" Logan asked, finishing up his business. He ran back to Katie and put one hand on her chest, the other on her forehead.

"She's burning up, James!"

"I know! I don't know what to do!" James wailed, already close to tears. There was nothing a_ny_ of them could do. They just had to watch Katie suffer until it was over. She seemed to be in the throw of some terrible nightmare, and James couldn't blame her.

"Why does she seem so scared?" Carlos asked, frightened. He shrunk back away from the scene, biting his knuckles with worry.

"Ricin can cause hallucinations. She's probably having vivid dreams," Logan told him. "Let's just hope she stays asleep, her body is probably in horrible pain right now."

"Oh God Logan, no," James whimpered. "How do we stop this? How do we fix her?"

"We have to let it run its course," Logan said.

"But can she survive this?" James asked. His voice was high pitched as the ball of panic in his stomach grew even bigger.

"I don't know, James!" Logan yelled. He didn't mean to yell, but his loud, angry voice bounced off the walls, filling the room with the booming sound.

James was a strong person, physically. But when it came to emotional endurance, James never lasted very long. He was too sensitive to his emotions. Things broke him easily. And right now he couldn't take this, he couldn't take just sitting in this room, scared to death with his friends pretty much just _waiting_ to die. He couldn't watch Katie deteriorate like this, become closer and closer to death with each minute knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do to save her.

Logan recognized the tears in James' eyes, the way his lip quivered and his face went blank. He quietly took Katie into his arms and held her, watching as James curled into a ball on the floor and start to sob.

"I'm sorry James, I'm sorry," Logan said softly. James didn't even appear to be listening.

"He'll be ok," Carlos said, but he wasn't very sure. He kept thinking that they would be ok, but now he was afraid things were only going to get worse. "I'll take care of him Logie, you focus on Katie."

Logan nodded and rocked Katie gently. Carlos curled up next to James and wrapped his arms and legs around his sobbing body, whispering sweet words into his ear to calm him down.

"Kendall, please wake up bro, I need you now," Logan said, shaking Kendall's shoulder. He was still passed out from whatever their kidnappers had used to knock him out. He lightly slapped Kendall's cheek until the blonde jolted awake, looking around as if he forgot where he was.

"Logie?"

"Kendall, your sister is sick. She needs your help," Logan said. "She needs you, buddy."

"Oh God, Katie?" Kendall said, sitting up in alarm. He wiped the grogginess from his eyes and ignored the way his head swam dizzyingly. He grabbed his sisters limp wrist. There was so much pain etched in her little, angelic face. Kendall woke up just in time, because with a gasp, Katie sat up straight and Immediately clutched her stomach. Her mouth formed an 'o' and she let out a strangled scream.

"Katie! Katie, it's ok, I'm right here!" Kendall said, grabbing his sister by the shoulders and looking into her eyes, but she was staring off in her own, agony-filled world. "Logie, what's wrong with her?"

"She has a fever high enough to cause delirium and ricin poisoning causes hallucinations," Logan told Kendall. "She might not be with us right now… Just keep talking to her."

"Ok, Katie, it's me, it's your big brother Kendall. James, Carlos and Logan are here too," Kendall said, gathering her in his arms. "You're going to be ok, baby sister. I have you right here, in my arms and I'm not going to let go. You're safe in my arms, baby sister."

Logan grabbed a bucket and shoved it under Katie's mouth, knowing the inevitable would happen soon. "Her body is going to start rejecting the poison soon," he said. Katie convulsed twice, and like Logan said it would, her body expelled it's poisonous contents violently. Kendall held her hair back and winced.

"Oh Katie, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry," Kendall said, tears streaming down his cheeks. Katie finished vomiting and collapsed against Kendall's chest, which was heaving for breaths. He was so scared, it was hard to breathe.

"Calm down, she's ok," Logan said, squeezing Kendall's shoulder. "She might throw up a couple more times but she'll be ok."

"I think she fell back to sleep," Kendall said. Katie's breaths evened back out and her eyes were closed again.

"Her pulse is a little fast, but nothing too bad," Logan said. "Let's just pray her fever goes down soon."

"Hey guys?" Carlos spoke up from where he was holding James, who also had cried himself to sleep.

"Yeah Carlos?" Logan asked.

"I don't think James is doing so good, Logie. Come here."

Logan crawled over to James and peered down at the exhausted boy. He was very pale, but his cheeks had a dark flush of red across them, and he whimpered and shivered as he slept.

"Oh James, what's wrong buddy?" Logan asked softly, knowing he wouldn't receive an answer back. He placed a hand on James' forehead and found it to be warm with fever.

"He's sick, isn't he?" Carlos asked, feeling James' forehead once Logan was finished. He felt all hot and clammy.

"Yeah, he's sick buddy," Logan said sadly. Now, both Katie and James were fever-stricken. This was going to be a long night. He had to do something about their fevers.

"Jamie, wake up for just a moment," Logan said, shaking the sick boy awake. He blinked his glassy, feverish eyes opened and moaned.

"Logie? I don't feel s'good…"

"I know, buddy. What hurts?"

"I just don't feel so good. I'm tired," James said, rolling over to bury his face in Carlos' chest. Logan noticed he was rubbing his hurt arm tenderly.

"Your arm hurts, James?" Logan asked. James gave a tiny nod. Logan pulled his shirt sleeve up and peered at his arm. His wound was clearly getting infected. Logan had to surpress the urge to swear and let his shirt sleeve down, then took his own sleeve of his shirt and ripped a little off. He then poured a bit of water on the cloth and handed the strip of damp cloth and the water bottle to Carlos.

"Keep him cool with this rag, press it on his forehead and wipe down his neck," Logan instructed. "Make sure he drinks some water, too. He needs to stay hydrated."

Logan ripped off a strip from his other sleeve, wetted it down, and pressed it to Katie's forehead.

"She's sleeping, that's good, right? She seems a bit calmer," Kendall said. Logan rested the wet cloth on Katie's forehead and wrapped an arm around Kendall's shoulder, leaning his back against the wall and his side against Kendall's, getting comfortable for the night.

"Yeah, that's good, Kendall," Logan said. Kendall nodded and brought Logan in close to him, taking the role of protective older brother. Logan snuggled down into Kendall's chest.

"You're doing amazing," Kendall assured him. "I know I was out for a while, but I also know you handled it perfectly. Thanks for that."

Logan nodded. "Of course, Kendall."

"I know you're really scared," Kendall said. "You don't have to pretend for me like you do James and Carlos. You can cry if you need too."

Logan nodded again, biting his lip and nuzzling his face in Kendall's neck. He knew he was about to cry any moment now. He let a small whimper escape his lips.

"Ssh, it's ok. I'll protect you guys," Kendall said, placing a chaste kiss to his little brother's forehead. He was upset at himself for being unconscious while they needed him most, and Logan stepped up and took his place, took care of the guys and Katie as if the gas station thing never even happened. Logan never ceased to amazing Kendall. He was definitely stronger than he seemed.

"I'm sleepy Kendall," Carlos said, scooting close to Kendall. He rested his head on Kendall's outstretched legs, his arms wrapped around James. Katie was nestled in Kendall's lap and Logan was on the verge of sleep against his side. Even though things were far from ok, he felt warm, almost safe with his friends and sister snuggled close to him. And in that heap of tangled arms and legs, the five children fell asleep.

A/N Thanks for reading! Reviews will make me super happy!


	25. Living Nightmare

**A/N Thanks for all of the reviews you guys! You're so awesome!**

Kendall couldn't sleep for long. He kept hearing Katie's agonized screams in his sleep, shredding his heart apart. No matter how exhausted he felt, there was no way he could fall asleep, so he was forced to stay awake in the dark, dingy, cold room. He kept his friends and sister close by, feeding James and Katie small sips of water through the night and trying to keep their fevers lowered, but there wasn't much he could actually do.

Katie was delirious all night, completely out of it. She vomited two more times, and Kendall felt a tiny bit thankful that at least she wasn't awake for all of it. Maybe she wouldn't even remember…. Maybe, once Kendall got her out of there, he could tell her it was all just a horrible nightmare, and that it never really happened…

He was always able to fix her up after a nightmare with a sweet song and a cuddle. But this was _real. _How could that little girl ever be the same again?

Kendall threw his head back against the stone wall a bit roughly, tears stinging at his eyes. Would he ever get his friends out of this room? Would they ever be allowed to leave? And if they did, was anything outside of this room any less terrifying, or was it much, much worse?

James suddenly moaned in his sleep, and Kendall scooted towards him, running his trembling fingers through his stringy brown hair.

"Hey buddy, it's me, you're okay," Kendall soothed to his feverish friend. Carefully, as to not wake him up, Kendall peeled back James' sleeve and peered at his wound. It was looking worse by the minute. He needed help, now.

What Kendall assumed was the night (he couldn't tell as there were no windows and he was stripped of any devices to tell the time) seemed to stretch on forever. He dozed off here and there but almost immediately jolted awake each time, thinking one of his friends were in danger.

But finally, one by one, his friends began to wake up. Carlos was first to wake up, rubbing his tummy. As soon as he saw Kendall, he crawled over to him and placed his head in his lap. Kendall patted him soothingly, as if he were a baby.

"I'm so hungry, Kendall. It hurts," Carlos said. The small amount of bread they had been given was long gone. He felt like he was starving.

"We'll get some soon, bud," Kendall said. Carlos looked up at Kendall innocently.

"Kendall? Why do you sound so weird?"

"What do you mean?" Kendall asked.

"You sound like you've been crying all night or something is all."

Kendall swallowed hard. He _had_ been crying, and thinking up ways to escape, and thinking about how stupid he was to get the people he loved most in a mess like this, but he would never tell Carlos that.

"No, I'm ok, Carlos. I just-"

"You were awake all night, weren't you? Because of James, you're worried he's getting worse. I can tell," Carlos said.

Kendall nodded solemnly. He wished he could lie to Carlos and tell him James was fine.

"Will he be okay?"

"I don't know, Carlos," Kendall said hoarsely. "He has an infection. And I think he's pretty freaked out, too."

Carlos blinked and sighed. "And Katie…?"

"She's getting better. Her fever, it's gone down. She hasn't thrown up in hours. But she's still out like a light. I'm scared she won't wake up this time, Carlos." Kendall bowed his head and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He felt a strong yet small hand grip his shoulder and squeeze it tightly, silently reassuring him. He looked up to see Carlos staring at him with big, innocent, sad eyes.

"Don't say that, she'll wake soon," Carlos told him.

As if on cue, Katie suddenly opened her eyes. She awoke with a gasp and her eyes immediately darted around the room, figuring she was alone in the room she had been prisoned in.

"Kendall, look!" Carlos said, sitting up and pointing at his sister with disbelief.

"Katie!" Kendall said, grabbing her tiny body and bringing it close. She leaned against his chest for a moment in shock, listening to his heartbeat. It was so real, so calming. She had her brother back.

And then the pain registered, along with the panic.

"Oh God, Kendall!" She cried out.

"Ssh, ssh baby I got you!" Kendall soothed, rocking her and stroking her hair and placing soft kisses to her bruised skin. "It's okay, he won't hurt you anymore. You're safe now."

Katie was crying and trembling in his arms, clinging to his neck like her life depended on it. She was so happy to see him, yet so terrified at the same time. Her entire body hurt.

"Kendall what's happening? Where are we? Where's mom?"

Kendall took a steadying breath and pulled Katie back slightly to look into her sweet, doe-like eyes, which were filled with so much unimaginable agony. It was inhumane, it was sickening. It literally made Kendall sick, because that was his baby sister who he swore to protect, lying broken in his arms.

"I…There's no easy way to explain this, Katie. W-we were kidnapped… By David. I don't know where we are, because we were blindfolded for hours and hours, maybe even days, I don't know. I haven't seen mom in a long time but I'm sure she's okay. You were poisoned, Katie. That's why you probably don't feel so good. But it's going to be okay, because you're with me now and I'm not letting anything else happen to you. I am so sorry, Katie…"

Kendall watched Katie's eyes tear up as he explained what had happened. So many questions were unanswered. He had no idea why this was happening to them, and what was going to become of them.

"Let it out, baby sister," Kendall cooed when Katie began to sob, holding onto his thick, quivering muscles. It hurt to see her cry, but he encouraged her to cry it out. He rubbed her back in circular motions like he used to when she would cry as a baby and toddler. He knew she'd be okay, though. Katie was a tough cookie. She just needed some comfort first.

"Katie, you have… _No_ idea how good it feels to have you in my arms again. I was so worried about you, baby sister. And those bastards, they'll pay for what they've done to you, okay? I won't let them get away with this."

**A/N Ok I meant for this chapter to be longer but it just didn't happen. I'm trying to plan something epic to happen soon and it's coming together slowly lol. **

**Anyway, so a few days ago I decided to post a story that has been on my mind for months now, called Small River. Now, I know it's a slash fiction BUT it's not just mindless, slapped together smut thing. It's got a really deep message, and it takes place in the 1960's, so it's super fun, endearing, and cute and it will also be very tragic. I don't want to give too much away, but that's a time when gay bashing was a big thing and some really horrible stuff went on in that time, plus Kendall's character is very abused and very adorable. I think if you gave it a chance, you would really fall in love with the characters (tried to stay as true as possible to the characters with small minor changes, except Logan plays a badass) and there's just so much going on in the story and so much I have planned for it. It will warm your heart and also break it. It's an emotional roller coaster. It's my first slash ever and I normally don't even read slash but as a writer I like to challenge myself. So, if you have the time it would mean soooo much to me if you read Small River and let me know if you care for it. I think once I get the story going and it's a few chaps in, you will really love it! So yeah. I won't know to continue it if I don't get feedback! Ok I guess I am done. I'm talkative tonight.**

**Um I went to this place called Bounce U tonight and went down this giant bouncy slide and screamed like a baby. Ok now I am done! Heehee. Please review!**


	26. Steve

**A/N Yes! It's finally up! (That's what he said… omfg I swear I did not plan that *chortle chortle* ok I will stop now I am so sorry) anyway I am sorry this took so long and I know you are all throwing rocks at me cuz you hate me. But I'll just pretend they are doughnuts. Yum. And this chapter took a lot of time and grief and effort so really I hope you like it and I will try my hardest to get some more chapters up. Please forgive the ridiculous long waits between chapters… I can't control my brain, it just does what it wants ya know? Also excuse typos and I hope this isn't too crappy because it's late and I am half dead. Anyway, onward-ho!**

For the duration of the next couple of hours, Kendall kept Katie close to his chest, rocking her tiny, frail body and kissing her temples softly, running his hands through her hair and down her back, anything to keep her calm. Carlos had fallen back to sleep and James and Logan had yet to wake up still, and Katie was quiet; fully awake, yet quiet, leaving Kendall alone with his thoughts.

He couldn't help but to wonder what would have happened if he had only done things differently, all those years ago, when his father had first left. What if he had told somebody what had happened, like he should have? If he had just _stopped_ his father, sent him to jail when he should have or hell, even had let him put a bullet in his head, none of his friends or family would be going through this nightmare. Right now, he would gladly let his father shoot him if it meant Katie and the boys would be released. If only he had known then what he knew now, his best friends and baby sister would have never had to gone through this. The thought left him guilty and sickened. Even as a little child, he would have taken the bullet if it meant it would have prevented any of this from happening.

Kendall pressed a shaking hand to his temple. Katie slipped from his grip a little bit with the action, and he grabbed onto her tightly, literally panicking when he felt her slip away. He buried his face into her hair and breathed in deep, trying to calm his nerves. He was so wired and… Just, terrified. He had never been so terrified in his life. His heart was pounding and his stomach was churning because he didn't know what was going to happen next or who was going to get hurt or traumatized.

"K-Kendall?"

The blonde in question lifted his head at the scared little voice. Logan was sitting up, his forehead covered in sweat and chest heaving. His eyes reminded Kendall of younger Logan, afraid of everything and innocent as a baby deer.

"Logie, are you alright?" Kendall asked.

Logan nodded, crawling to Kendall and leaning against his sturdy, warm best friend for comfort.

"I-I keep seeing…" Logan's sentence broke off with a sob. Kendall shushed him and threw an arm around him, so he was cradling both his baby sister and best friend in the crook of his arms.

"I know, don't talk about it buddy," Kendall said, tearing up for his friend. The younger boy did not deserve the hell he had been put through. "If we don't talk about it, it's like it didn't happen, right? This is all just a nightmare, and I'm going to end it soon."

Logan nodded again, soft brown hair flopping into his eyes now that his hair gel had been worn out, trusting Kendall.

"Logan?" Kendall asked after a few moments of silence passed. James and Carlos were still asleep, fevers and nightmares wracking their poor bodies, and Katie had drifted off into a slumber finally.

"Hmm?" Logan replied in a groggy voice. He must have just been starting to doze off again, but now he was looking up at Kendall expectantly, worry evident in those sweet brown eyes.

"Am I… Logan, what did I do? I k-keep asking myself over and over what I could have possibly done to make David hate me so much, but I- I was just a little kid. I don't remember. I don't know why he would do this to us." Kendall squeezed his eyes shut, willing his tears to fade away. He felt cool, skinny fingers brush against his hot cheek, drying the crystal droplets away.

"Please don't blame yourself," Logan breathed desperately, continuing to stroke Kendall's cheek even though his tears were dry now. "We need you Kendall. Please stay strong. I can't get through this without you."

Kendall opened his eyes, a promise shining in the bright green orbs. "I'm not going to leave you, Logie. Trust me. I'm going to do something about this. I swear to God they won't hurt you guys anymore." Kendall spoke with gritted teeth, his face turning a light shade of red. But Logan could still see the guilt in his eyes, he could hear it in his voice. Logan knew Kendall felt like he should be punished for this.

Suddenly, Logan let out a sob of sorrow and fear. Worried, Kendall brought Logan in for a tight hug. The smaller boy buried his face in Kendall's hair, his trembling hands grasping Kendall's back for dear life.

"Are we going to make it out of this?" Logan whispered.

"I swear to it," Kendall said, his voice surprisingly strong.

The boys spent the next couple of minutes tangled in each other's arms, trying to soothe their frazzled nerves. Unfortunately, the quiet comfort didn't last long. There was a scratching noise at the door, followed by a metallic click, indicating impending doom. Kendall and Logan stopped their tears abruptly and watched the door in frozen apprehension. It swung open with force, revealing a tall, buff figure emerging from the shadowy hallway. The dim light in the cramped, cold room revealed the figure to be Alex. A shiver ran through Kendall's spine. This would not end well.

For a moment, Alex simply stood in the doorway, watching the sleeping children, and Kendall and Logan, who cowered together as if trying to protect themselves. The criminal had a glint of something evil or maniac in his eyes and his teeth gleamed yellow in the dirty glow of the single hanging light bulb.

"What do you want?" Kendall hissed, pulling Katie and Logan impossibly closer in his arms. He glanced at James and Carlos from the corner of his tear-blurred eyes. They were still sound asleep, oblivious to the monster standing in the room.

Logan, though, knew exactly who it was that stood before him. The teenager went very cold and still in Kendall's arm. His chin was quivering and his cheeks were alabaster, while high-pitched whimpers escaped his pale pink, slightly parted lips.

"Logan?" Kendall whispered, shaking his friend gently. The brunet began a slow decent into a panic attack. He started panting, and the panting turned into frantic wheezes. His brown eyes glazed over and appeared almost black, they were so blown with panic. All the while, Alex continued to just stand there and stare at the boys, chuckling to himself.

"What's the matter with you?" Kendall growled to the man. His fingers ran through Logan's hair frantically, his other hand tapping his freezing cheek to try to get his attention. "Logan, please, it's okay. Snap out of it. He's not going to hurt, Logan." Kendall adverted his gaze to Alex, trying to look as menacing as possible under the circumstances. "Do you hear me? Don't you _dare _hurt my brother. I know what you did to him and I swear I will kill you if you lay a hand on him, you sick _fuck."_

Alex smiled even bigger at Kendall's cuss words for some reason. He took a few steps closer to his stubborn-headed victim and leaned in close to him.

"Do you think you're going to stop me?" Alex asked amusedly.

"Yes," Kendall said simply.

Alex thought it would be fun to test this theory. He put two beefy hands on Logan's shoulders, who closed his eyes and squeaked, wrapping his skinny arms around Kendall's shoulders. Alex laughed and yanked Logan easily out of Kendall's lap.

"Give him to me now," Kendall demanded, stretching out his arms to bring a submissive Logan back. His hand wrapped around Logan's ankles and pulled, but Alex swung Logan's body away as if he were a rag doll, his limp body landing in the doorway. Logan cried silently, eyes cringed shut and tears leaking out as his mouth let out quiet pleas for the torture to stop.

Kendall was about to stand up and challenge Alex, willing to kill him right at that moment if need be, but Katie woke up, the first thing she saw being Alex standing over, leering at her brother.

Katie let out a throat-ravishing scream, losing all control over her mind. Her only thought process was to get away from one of the men who had beat her relentlessly over the past few days. She had totally lost it, which was frightening to Kendall. The screams woke Carlos, who saw Alex and crawled over to the furthest corner like a kicked puppy. Alex smirked, seeing these children so afraid of him. He had the highest level of control over their frail emotions and he was planning on abusing his power for his own enjoyment.

The tallest, pretty-boy was sprawled out on the floor, unconscious due to fever. The little girl was screeching and crying, trapped in her mind, replaying the moments of abuse he had with her. The two smallest boys were cowered in separate corners and even Kendall, the one who proved to be toughest of them all-boy, he sure did give them a run for their money- was staring at up at Alex, shocked by the scene unraveling before him. They were his play things now, and Alex wanted to have a little fun.

"You have no control anymore, do you Kendall? And that bothers you, doesn't it?" Alex said, deciding playing head games was the best way to break the oldest of the bunch. "You're so used to protecting your friends and family, and now all you can do is sit and watch them suffer." Alex leaned down close to Kendall's pale, sweat-laden face. Kendall didn't even flinch. "You're my puppet now, boy. I can do anything I want to you and your friends, and you can't do a thing about it."

As Alex continued his taunt, Kendall felt his blood pressure rising, heating his cheeks with a burning anger. Every muscle inside of him seemed to clench and contort as he held back the urge to kill this monster, but it was too hard to control anymore. He raised his fist to punch Alex. He didn't even have a plan of action to fight, he was just going to keep throwing punches until he passed out, but as soon as he swung the first blow, Alex caught his wrist, his long and chunky fingers seeming to swallow the thin bone.

"Little boy… What are you doing?" Alex asked. Kendall sneered.

"I'm not yours. I'm not David's," Kendall growled. He held back a wince when Alex's fingers grew too tight around his wrist. "Let go of me. _**I said let go!"**_ Kendall's voice boomed through the claustrophobic room with anger.

Alex's eyes flashed, and with a sharp, forceful flick of his wrist, he broke Kendall's with a sickening snap. There was a moment of silence as all the blood drained from Kendall's previously flushed face and the breath was taken from his lungs. The pain did not register at first, but when it did, it him like a truck, sending searing jolts of agony up through his arm.

"_Agghhhh!" _Kendall screamed, falling to his knees. His ears buzzed as shock threatened to take him over. In the distance he could hear Carlos screaming "no!" and Logan crying. But his cries of pain were louder, piercing his friend's ears and making them sick to their stomachs.

Alex looked proud of himself as he watched Kendall writhe on the floor. The blonde blinked stars from his vision and tried to maintain his breathing. He looked up at Alex with clenched teeth.

"You're a monster," Kendall spat.

"Leave us alone! What do you want from us?" Carlos cried. Logan whimpered, shaking his head at Carlos, warning him to shut up. Alex took a step toward the Latino. Carlos braced himself for the pain he knew was coming, but Kendall actually stood up in front of Alex, blocking his path to Carlos, clutching his wrist but strong and tall nonetheless.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Alex asked. "Didn't you learn the last time not to mess around?" Alex glanced at Kendall's sister, but Kendall kept his face stony and serious.

"I'm not playing your games," Kendall warned. "Stay away from my family. I _dare_ you to run and tell David that I'm not complying too your freaky, twisted abuse but I don't care because I will tear you all to shreds."

Alex giggled, a high pitched, insane sounding laugh. Logan and Carlos looked up at Kendall, wondering what in the hell he was actually thinking.

"Kendall stop, I'm scared," Carlos pleaded. He had Katie in his arms now. She had hyperventilated herself back to sleep, but was still wrapped in a horrible nightmare brought on by Alex and David.

"What's going on in here?" Steve burst into the boy's prison to find David's captures terrified and crying. "Alex, get out of here. I think they get the point."

Alex snorted like some kind of demented dragon. He hated Steve with a passion. The guy wasn't cut out for their kind of job. He and Marcus had been allies with David for years, but Steve was new.

Even though Alex was big, Steve was buffer, leaner. So when Steve approached him with a threat evident in his eyes, Alex threw the boy's one last dirty glare and stalked out of the room, leaving Kendall, Carlos and Logan once again surprised.

"My advice?" Steve offered, placing new buckets, bread and water in front of the teenagers. "Leave Alex be. He's psycho up here." Steve tapped his temple, than pointed to the food and water. "Well? Eat, drink. We have a long day ahead."

Cautiously, never taking their eyes off of Steve, the three conscious boys took the bread and water. As soon as the provisions were in their hands, they tore the bread apart greedily with their teeth and lugged down the water as if they were ravenous animals, not boys. Steve shook his head, watching the boys eat.

He wasn't meant to be there. He owed David a favor was all. Steve had never planned to ruin 5 kid's lives like this. But when David called, telling him it was time to pay his dues, he was not expecting it to lead to something like this. He figured they would kidnap the kids, set them up for ransom, and get on with their lives. But David had other plans in store. He wanted to keep these kids and torture them as his own game. Steve wanted out.

"Why are you still here?" Kendall asked after gulping down the last of his water, staring at Steve suspiciously. He was in so much obvious pain. His face was milky white and tears were evident in his bright green eyes.

"You look just like him," Steve noted, comparing Kendall's green eyes to David's. Kendall was such an innocent boy, Steve could tell by looking past the steely armor he kept around himself at all times.

"I'm _nothing_ like him," Kendall retorted, practically spitting his words. He winced and let out a yelp of pain when his wrist throbbed suddenly. "What do you want with us? To play more games, hurt my friends some more? Because if you plan on touching them, you can hurt me instead. Don't even waste your energy trying to hit them, because I won't let you."

"Hey I never signed up for a case of beat the shit out of some random kids," Steve said. "I'm here to make sure they don't kill you kids but you all are making it kind of hard when every time I come in this room, you're startin' something with them."

"Why do you even care about us?" Logan asked pitifully.

"Because I have a teenage son of my own," Steve said. "I'm basically here against my will, just like you kids are. If I don't do as told, they'll kill me too so we're all in the same boat. Just try not to make those guys want to kill ya, 'cause they damn will, you hear me?"

"You mean… You're on our side?" Carlos wondered.

"That's bullshit, he was there that night on 5th and Boulder!" Kendall accused. "He knocked us out, he kidnapped us too! Maybe he's not crazy as the rest of them, but he's still crazy!"

"Or maybe I'm just doin' my job so I don't get a bullet in my head, so I can go home and see my boy one day," Steve said through gritted teeth, challenging Kendall to argue further. When Kendall decided not to speak any further, Steve nodded to his wrist.

"Let me see?"

"No," Kendall said.

"Come on kid, you need that fixed up or it'll be messed up forever. I have something to wrap it with."

Kendall didn't move, just kept his wrist cradled to his chest. Steve rolled his eyes at the defiant boy, grabbed his wrist, and slid the bones back together before Kendall could really react.

"I've set many bones in my day," Steve said as he performed the painful, but necessary and quick, procedure. Kendall's eyes widened with even more excruciating pain as he felt his bones sliding against one another. There was a loud pop, and his wrist was no longer bent at an odd angle.

Kendall fell down again, weak in the knees and sweaty. Logan and Carlos crowded around him with words of comfort, stroking his hair back and rubbing his back. They didn't even notice Steve leaving, but when he came back, he had something to wrap Kendall's wrist up and did the job quickly.

"There, just don't move it or jostle it, you'll be fine. You'll be in pain, but you'll be fine," Steve said. He was about to leave, but Logan spoke up before he could exit.

"Wait! D-do you have something f-for James? He's sick," Logan said, pointing to James' sleeping body. "He has an infection in his arm and needs help. Please. He could die."

Steve considered it for a moment, assessing James' condition from afar. "Alright. I'll be back," he said, and with that, he shut the door and the lock slid shut once again.

**A/N THANK GOD ugh I thought I would never get that chapter done. So… Whatcha think? Like where this is going so far? Enough whump for you guys yet? Bear with me for the next few chapters, I'm going on a cruise in a few days and will be in Mexico so I won't be able to update anything at all for the next couple weeks **** Just a reminder before ya'll freak out on me again. Haven't forgotten this story, just busy. Anyway, review? Love you guys! Huggies!**


	27. Enemy or Allie?

**A/N Okay I totally overlooked it but I made a big typo last chapter, the man who came into the boy's room in that chapter was supposed to be Marcus but for some reason, I kept writing the name Alex. So yeah please keep in mind that was supposed to be Marcus-the insane guy who was with Logan in the gas station- who was in the room with them last chapter, that's why Logan was so terrified. Sorry omg I feel like digging myself a deep hole 'cause I suck at life. If I have time, I might go back and fix it but I doubt it lol. Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews! Hope you like this one!**

"Is he really going to come back?" Carlos asked after Steve left the boys in their tiny cell.

"I hope so," Logan said softly, pressing a hand to James' forehead. The heat radiating off of the sick boy's clammy skin was extremely concerning.

"How do we know we should trust him?"

Logan glanced at Carlos. He really didn't know if Steve should be trusted or not. He could be lying for all he knew, about his son and everything. But Marcus and Alex were proving themselves to be insane and violent, whereas Steve really did seem to only do his job. He didn't torture the boys for no reason at all besides his own enjoyment like the other two were doing.

"If he comes back for James, we'll know," Logan told Carlos.

"Steve might not be messing with us like the others, but he's still one of them," Kendall spoke up. Carlos and Logan looked to the eldest one in the room. He was cradling his wrist and his face was drawn with pain and exhaustion. He looked so changed in just the few days they had gone through. It scared the smaller boys. "We're not trusting anybody but each other, whether he helps James or not."

"But what if he can get us out of here?" Logan asked. Kendall shook his head, sweat-laden hair flopping into his eyes.

"No," Kendall said firmly, his voice gruff with pain. "We trust each other and that's all. You guys have to promise me you won't fall for anything he says. We'll humor him because he's proved to know about medical things, but he's still a mortal enemy until I find out for sure otherwise. Promise?" Kendall looked at his friends expectantly. Carlos and Logan glanced at each other and nodded. Kendall always knew what he was talking about, and if he said Steve could be bad news, than he was probably right.

The boys heard a noise at the door and hushed. Steve walked in with a small bag, and the atmosphere was a little awkward, like he could tell the teenagers had been talking about him. Wordlessly, the mysterious man approached James' sleeping body. Kendall automatically scooted towards the boy, as if he wouldn't allow the man to get close to his friends without him nearby.

"What are his symptoms?" Steve asked, examining the peaceful but sick boy.

"High fever, maybe one-oh-two or so," Logan explained quietly. "Unresponsive to us, fast pulse." Logan rolled up James' shirt sleeve to reveal his infected burn. "He needs antibiotics and the wound to be sterilized."

Steve glanced at Logan, impressed. "You seem to know what you're talking about. You want to be a doctor when you grow up?"

Logan just shrugged and looked down at the scummy floor. He wasn't in a talkative mood. Even though Steve was just trying to cut the tension, he felt strange speaking to any of the guys that worked for David.

Steve carefully cut away James' shirt. Kendall put his hand out to stop him.

"What are you doing?" The blonde asked. He didn't want James shirtless in this dump. He'd get sicker, not to mention Kendall didn't trust any of them to his see his friends unclothed. David's thugs were creepy and could be perverted freaks for all he knew.

"Don't worry, it's procedure. I could injure him further if I try to take his shirt off normally. I'll bring him a new shirt of mine." Steve set to work as Kendall, Logan and Carlos watched his every move, making sure he didn't hurt James in any way. Steve cleaned his wound, wrapped it with antibiotic cream, than gave him a couple of Tylenols. By the time Steve finished, James' arm was much cleaner looking, but the area around the wound was still red and hot with fever. Logan wasn't satisfied.

"The infection is in his blood stream, it's gone too far," Logan told him. "The antibiotic cream won't make him better. He needs oral antibiotics."

"Sorry, kid. I don't have any. Supplies are kind of limited. Keep an eye on his wound, clean it and redress it twice a day. This will have to do for now."

Anger flashed in Logan's light brown eyes, obviously unhappy with Steve's response. James would improve slightly, but without oral antibiotics, he could still be sick or even get worse. But there was nothing he could do about it. At least they were able to clean his wound. Logan hoped it would last long enough for them to get out of there and see a doctor, if they ever could leave.

"Thanks," Logan mumbled. He didn't want to seem ungrateful and make Steve not want to help them again when they really needed it.

Steve gave a nod. "You kids rest up. David said we were leaving today, so if I were you guys, I'd eat and sleep as much as you can. God knows when you'll get the chance to again."

"Leave? Where to?" Kendall asked. Steve just shook his head. Kendall wasn't sure if Steve truly didn't know, or if he was sworn to secrecy. The older man left the suffocating room, the door clunking shut and locking behind him.

"At least anywhere can't be worse than here," Carlos muttered.

"Why is he doing this?" Logan asked, knowing his question couldn't be answered. "Why is he taking us to these places? How far away from home are we?"

"What home?" Carlos muttered, his heart constricting painfully at the memories of his old house in Minnesota and his ruined apartment in California.

"Guys, stop," Kendall said. He didn't want his friends to have such bad thoughts. Yeah, their situation was horrible, but if they dwelled on it, it would destroy them from the inside out. He needed his boys to stay strong. "If we are leaving today, Steve is right. We need to eat and drink and build up strength so we can be ready for anything." Kendall reached over and gave his friends the food Steve brought them. As they nibbled on their breakfast, James began to moan.

"Jamie?" Carlos asked, setting down his apple. He crawled over to his best friend on all fours and hovered over him, watching every facial expression. James winced before blinking his eyes a few times. Finally, his dark lashes lifted to reveal feverish, honey-brown orbs, and immediately tears fell down his flushed cheeks.

"Oh James it's okay, don't cry," Carlos said frantically, running his hands through James' tangled locks in a desperate attempt to calm him down.

"James, hey, hey, you're alright," Kendall cooed, grabbing James' hand. At the comfort of his friends, the sick boy relaxed a bit, but fat, wet droplets still streamed down his innocent face.

"I thought it was a nightmare," James croaked. Kendall sighed and brought James into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it's real," Kendall whispered into James' hair, rubbing his back with his good hand as he clutched the bigger boy to his chest.

James leaned back slightly to look at Kendall, realizing the blonde sounded different. His breathing was labored and his voice was pinched, his skin sweaty.

"Kendall what's wrong… What's wrong with your wrist?" James asked, noticing with concern that Kendall's wrist was bandaged up.

"It's nothing," Kendall said quickly.

"Who did that to you?" James demanded to know, his voice amazingly strong for being so sick. When Kendall did not answer, James made something like a growling noise in the back of his throat.

"James, please don't worry about me. You need to drink and eat something, here." Kendall handed James an apple and a bottle of water, but the stubborn boy pushed it away.

"No, I'm not hungry," he mumbled.

"You gotta eat something," Logan said. "Steve said they are taking us away today. I have no idea what that means, but I'm guessing this is one of their hideouts and they are in danger of being found. We have no idea what's in store for us today. We need to take advantage of what we have and build up our health because we have no idea when's the next time we can do so." After Logan's little speech, James still did not make a move for the small amount of food in front of him.

"Please?" Logan whispered, pulling out the puppy dog eyes. James rolled his own eyes and took a bite of his apple. As soon as he swallowed, his stomach rolled dangerously, so he ditched the apple and tried his water next. He was thirstier than he let on, because he finished half the bottle within just a few gulps.

"Feel better?" Carlos asked hopefully. James shrugged. The water felt good against his dry throat, but he was still uncomfortably hot and dizzy.

"How about you go back to sleep," Carlos suggested, spreading his arms for James to lie down in. James leaned against Carlos gratefully and closed his eyes, exhausted after such a small amount of activity. Within moments, he was asleep.

"He's sicker than he's letting us know," Logan observed, touching James' forehead. He wasn't as hot as he was earlier, but he was still running quite a fever.

Kendall ran a hand over his own face, hardly realizing the beginnings of prickly scruff covering his chin from not shaving for so long. He couldn't believe how big of a mess this was, and had to force the usual guilty and self-destructing thoughts from plaguing his mind. It was easier said than done, when he knew that he was the only reason why his friends and sister were scared out of their minds, injured, and even ill.

James was able to sleep for about half an hour, as Kendall watched him forlornly, before Alex and Marcus both opened the door to their cell and stepped in, giant grins on their faces, and Marcus was the first to speak, followed by him chuckling amusedly.

"Let's go, kiddos!"

**A/N I guess the scenery is about to change! Hmm, where could they be taking the boys and Katie now? Is James going to be okay? What is David up to? Most importantly, what do you all think? ;) Reviews mean a happy Channy! I'll update asap xoxoxo**


	28. Run

Kendall didn't even have time to react before Marcus made a move straight for him, gripping a piece of rope in one hand. Logan, who was holding onto Kendall, was backhanded onto the floor with a yelp of pain.

"Hey! What the fu-" Kendall started to yell, but his cussing was stopped short when Marcus jerked him up by the arm and yanked his wrists behind his back, resulting in a scream of agony from the injured blonde. He almost fell down, but before his knees could hit the ground, Marcus pulled him back up and knotted his hands together with the rough strand of rope, rendering him helpless. Kendall let out a sob. He had never experienced so much pain in his lifetime. His loud struggling awoke James, and Alex noticed the pretty boy's presence with a mixture of disdain and amusement.

"Wh-what's happening?" James muttered, watching Kendall bawl his eyes out, his arms tied tightly behind his back. His mind was foggy and drowsy. He wanted to get up and help, but he found himself frozen in Carlos' arms, his head spinning wildly as his best friend suffered in front of him.

"Get up, pretty boy," Alex shouted. James blinked, leaning against Carlos' chest. Carlos wrapped his arms around him, holding him as protectively as he could.

"He's sick, can't you see that?" Carlos said acidly, sneering at Alex. Alex laughed, because he couldn't care less how James was feeling. In fact, he was glad the little diva was suffering. It made his job that much more fun.

"Hey Marcus, we got a disobeyer, and the little one is talkin' back!" Alex said. Marcus looked up from Kendall and pushed him to the ground as if he were a ragdoll. He walked over to where Carlos held James, who was barely conscious.

"Well punish 'em then!" Marcus said, his grin growing even wider, showing every one of his dirty teeth.

Without warning, Alex pulled out the unexpected; a red pocket knife. In a moments flash, the gleaming silver blade extracted with a flick of the thugs wrist as he inched closer to the two crying boys on the floor.

"Oh my God, Kendall-Kendall what is he doing?" Logan asked in a panicked voice, watching the scene start to unfold in front of him. He had the sickest feeling in his gut. Something really bad was about to go down.

"What are you doing with that?" Kendall yelled from his unhelpful position across the room. He instinctively fought against his bonds, which only made his wrist throb excruciatingly more. "Stop it! Don't go near them!" Kendall yelled hoarsely. Alex ignored him. Despite being ill, James quickly changed positions with Carlos, hiding him behind his back, practically laying on him to protect him from the blade.

"Marcus, get the little one. I'll take care of pretty boy," Alex said.

"No," James said pitifully when Carlos was snatched away from him. Marcus held him forcefully, laughing as Alex grabbed James' arm.

"Please don't, he's hurt!" Kendall screamed, thinking about James' already festering burn. He didn't need an injury on top of that one. Alex ignored Kendall and kneeled in front of James, who tried futilely to thrash away, but he was too weak. Alex grabbed his uninjured arm and pressed the edge of the blade to his delicate tanned skin.

"I'm gonna enjoy watching you bleed, pretty boy," Alex said. James cringed, waiting for the pain to come. He hated blood, even the sight of his own blood made him want to faint.

"You're insane!" Carlos cried from Marcus' grasp as he thrashed around, trying to kick the bigger man off of him.

"Carlos, look away!" Kendall yelled. "James, it's okay buddy, we're right here, don't w-"

Kendall's encouragement was cut off with the sound of James yelling out, his head thrown back in pain. Alex was creating shallow incisions up and down James' arm. Blood began to trickle out a little bit too quickly down the shaking limb. Kendall felt sick at the sight. He chanced a look at his sister, who was still passed out from sickness and exhaustion. He prayed she would not wake up and have to endure this torture, or even hear it.

As James was being cut, Carlos was thrown to the floor. Marcus yanked his pants down, making Carlos scream and squirm.

"What the _fuck _are you doing?" Kendall snarled at Marcus. The thug was way out line now. Kendall was answered with the sound of leather hitting bare skin, followed immediately by quiet sobbing. Marcus was wasting no time in giving Carlos a whipping for his punishment. Kendall lost count of how many times his innocent best friend was whipped. He closed his eyes, wishing this could all just stop, as the sounds of his best friend's pained cries filled the air.

When Marcus was through with beating Carlos, he kicked his limp body towards Logan, who scrambled to pull up his pants and gathered him up in his arms. Carlos' face lay hot and heavy on Logan's chest, tears dampening his shirt immediately. All Logan could think to do was rock him. He was afraid that every move he might make would result in a punishment from Alex and Marcus, and he eyed the two bullies warily. Alex was still torturing James, only he stopped the cutting and was now just taunting him for his looks. Logan couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it! Just stop!" Logan screeched. Kendall and Carlos stared at Logan, silently begging him to be quiet. Alex looked up from James, obviously pleased that he had another one to punish, his maniac grin plastered to his face.

"No, no not Logie," Kendall whispered. He groaned out loud at his helpless state. If only his arms were untied, he would be beating the living crap out of Alex and Marcus right now.

Logan squeaked, instantly regretting his words when Marcus and Alex both approached him. His heart pounding nervously in his chest, he looked around the room, searching for a way out. James, Carlos and Logan were shouting at Alex and Marcus to stay away from him, but of course, they ignored the three teenagers, ready to pounce on their prey like lions on a baby gazelle.

Logan did the first thing that came to his mind to save himself: Run. He was the fastest player on their hockey team back home in Minnesota, with a small, lightweight body and long, muscular legs. Whenever bullies would pick on him, he never fought back, he'd always just run. So the small boy jumped to his feet and made a break for the door, without any idea where he would go. He just knew he had to run and get away from those two psychopaths before they could hurt him, and only in the way back of his mind he knew that when they did find him, his punishment would be 10 times worse.

**A/N OK everybody, I want you to suggest what could happen to Logan for running away! I have a few ideas in mind but I want to know what you guys would like to see happen and how bad I should make it. Let me know in a review! Thanks for reading!**


	29. Missing

Carlos watched Logan narrowly escape Marcus and Alex in what seemed like slow motion. Kendall was screaming for Logan to run and James was crying. It was up to him to do something, _anything_, so he did the first thing he could think of: He jumped up to his feet and ran to the door, closing it and blocking it.

"If you want Logan, you have to get through me first!" Carlos yelled as Alex and Marcus barreled into him, not realizing their way out was blocked.

"Move kid, or I'll fuck you up," Alex spat, but Marcus just chuckled and put his hand on Alex's chest to cool him down.

"Wait, Alex. What's waiting for Logan is much, much worse than anything we could do to him."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Carlos asked, confused. He glanced at Kendall and James, but they looked just as clueless as he was, until Kendall's pained green eyes widened with sick realization.

"No, Logan! Come back!" Kendall screeched. He knew just what was waiting for him, or rather, _who _was waiting for him.

"It's his own damn fault," Alex snapped at Kendall in a voice loud enough to make him flinch. "We taught you boys to know better, haven't we?"

"I say David just kills the brat already," Marcus murmured.

"No! Not Logie!" Carlos yelled, suddenly catching on to what Kendall knew. He turned around to open the door and run out after him, but Marcus yanked him back by the arm. He cried out in pain and tried to shove Marcus away, the only thought running through his mind was to save Logan and bring him back.

"Stop struggling kid," Marcus growled, grabbing the small boy by the shoulders. Carlos wasn't going down without a fight though. He bared his teeth and sank them deep into Marcus' arm. The thug was momentarily stunned by the sharp pain, but he easily tore Carlos away. When he looked into Carlos' innocent, dark eyes, he felt only malice and hate for him and not an ounce of sympathy.

"The little fucker bit me," Marcus yelled. With brute force, he shoved Carlos into the stone wall, his head smacking hard against it. Carlos was out instantly, his body slumping to the floor with a dull thud as soon as Marcus let go of his shoulders.

"Carlos!" James whimpered, crawling over to his still body. He felt his stomach clench when he saw the blood pooling from the back of his best friend's head, tears immediately pricking at his eyes.

"Is he breathing?" Kendall demanded. James nodded when he saw Carlos' chest move up and down weakly. He groaned, feeling woozy, not from just Carlos' blood but from the loss of his own blood. His arm was covered with the sticky red substance and the room smelled harshly like the irony liquid.

Marcus and James looked down at the four helpless bodies, satisfied. The two littlest ones were out like lights, the pretty boy was about to join them, and Kendall was bounded tightly, unable to do anything if he tried. That was how they wanted them, even though it was a fight to weaken them, it was a fun and exhilarating fight, and the weaker they were, the easier it would be to get them to oblige.

As the three teenagers whimpered and moaned, Steve's mumbled and static-y voice sounded through Alex's walkie-talkie.

"Guys, what's taking so long? We need to leave, _now,"_ Steve told them.

"Sorry Steve, the kids put up a bit of a fight, but something tells me it'll be smooth sailing from here on out."

Steve was silent for a moment after Alex's reply. "Alex, Marcus, you didn't kill the kids, did you?" He asked with trepidation.

"Who cares?" Marcus snarled. "They're good as dead anyway." Kendall looked up at Marcus questioningly, knotting his eyebrows as a sinking feeling hit his stomach.

"Just bring them to the car," Steve growled, obviously ticked off. Alex just laughed and shoved his walkie-talkie back in his pocket, then hauled James and Kendall up by their arms. James yelped in pain and wavered on his feet, dizzy from fever and loss of blood.

"Kendall, I don't feel good," James said in a scared, slurred voice. He stumbled as if he were drunk and almost fell.

"James! Guys, let me carry him, please," James said to Alex and Marcus. "He's too weak. Just untie me, I won't try anything. I _swear,"_ Kendall pleaded with his captors, but they shook their heads.

"No way, boy. David's orders were to keep you tied up at all times. The pretty one can walk," Alex said. He scooped Carlos into his arms, who was still bleeding and passed out.

"Where're we going?" James whimpered, tears blurring his vision. Why were they leaving this hell hole? Was it only going to be worse, wherever they went? He just wanted to go home now, back in his bed at the Palmwoods with Carlos snoring away in the bed next to him, where it was warm and safe and everything made sense, not here in this nightmare.

"Somewhere they can't find us, so David can have you all to himself," Marcus said, winking at Kendall, who gazed at the floor, finding himself sickened just looking at the older man's evil face. He was truly ugly, his vicious and remorseful personality reflecting in his eyes and even his skin. He felt his stomach churn when he lifted up Katie to his chest. Kendall didn't want anybody else but himself holding his little sister.

"Let's get to the van," Alex said. He poked Kendall in the sweaty small of his back. Kendall tried to ignore the tears welling in his eyes followed Alex through the hallways of whatever abandoned building they were in. James nearly fell several times, but was forced to keep walking despite his weakness. Kendall kept a close eye out for Logan in the corridors, listening carefully to each closed door room they passed if he could hear him. But Logan didn't seem to be anywhere inside the building, from what he could tell. Maybe Logan had actually gotten away and was on his way to getting help, or maybe he was already in the van, where they were headed. Kendall could only hope that he was safe from his father, though that was very doubtful.

For the first time in days, cold air brushed against Kendall's skin. They were outside. It was dark, probably the middle of the night and no street lights were around, but they were in a large, gravel parking lot. There was no sign of the pickup truck, but instead waiting for them was the epitome of a van you'd find in a kidnapping movie: Big, old, rusty and white, lacking a license plate, with no windows beside the windshield. Steve was standing at the back of the van and opened the two doors when he saw the thugs coming with the kids. He seemed to be mentally counting them and noticed one missing.

"There're only 4 here," Steve said suspiciously. The next thing he noticed was how beaten and worn the children looked. Two of them were unconscious, and the other two could hardly walk. "Where's Logan? What the hell did you do to them?"

"Relax, Logan ran away. We'll let David deal with that brat," Marcus said. "These guys put up a fight. We didn't have much a choice but to do what we did to them."

Steve's eyes widened with anger. He took James' bloody arm in his hand. The teenager was on the brink of fainting, and his face was deathly pale, as if all the blood had left his cheeks.

"M-mom, I want my mom," he whimpered, hardly even noticing where he was or what was going on.

"Lay them down," Steve said, nodding towards Carlos and Katie. "I've got them from here. You guys get in the van and wait for David to get back."

Alex and Marcus seemed hesitant, but when Steve growled "_now," _and reached to his back pocket, as if something was in it, they quickly set Carlos and Katie inside the van and ran to the front.

"What happened in there?" Steve asked, immediately assessing their wounds. He went to look at Kendall's first, but Kendall waved him off.

"No, wrap James' arm and take care of Carlos first, I'll be fine," Kendall told him. Steve quickly went in his bag to grab a few supplies, treated and wrapped James' sliced up arm and gave him more fever reducers, then checked out Carlos' wound.

"The gash on the back of Carlos' head has stopped bleeding but I'm betting he has a concussion. When he wakes up, he'll probably be in a lot of pain and might be nauseous. Just give him one of these pain relievers. You take one too," Steve said, pressing a pill on the back of Kendall's tongue.

"Steve, can you please untie me?" Kendall asked pleadingly, begging to be free of the bonds restricting his broken wrist. "My friends need me and my wrist hurts so bad. I promise I won't try anything."

Steve obliged, hearing the pain in his voice, and freed Kendall, who breathed a shaky sigh of relief and cradled his throbbing wrist to his chest, thankful for the loss of pressure on his shattered bones.

"Why are we leaving? Can you tell me anything?" Kendall asked.

"We're on the run, that's all I know," Steve told him.

"They said something about David being alone with us, do you know what that means at all?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't know what David's plans are, kid. But they are never good." Steve threw in a couple of water bottles and pieces of bread into the back of the van, the only source of nourishment they would have for the upcoming travel. Kendall crawled into the van beside James, who nestled into his lap, shaking violently.

"I-I just want my friends and sister to be safe," Kendall said tearfully, running his unhurt hand through James' sweaty hair.

"I'm sorry kid," Steve said. He went to close the metal van doors, but Kendall stopped him.

"Wait! Where's Logan? We need to wait for Logan!"

Steve turned away and shook his head. "I don't think Logan will be joining you for this ride," he said.

"_What?"_ Kendall cried. "Logan! No, I need him, you can't-"

"I'm sorry," Steve whispered one more time, before shutting the metal doors with a bang and locking them.


	30. Beaten

**A/N SURPRISE! **

Mentally and physically exhausted, Kendall had passed out, the fast, rocking motions of the van lulling him into unconsciousness. He awoke in a panic a few hours later, momentarily forgetting where he was and what had happened to him and his friends earlier that day. He had to squeeze back tears as memories of the brutal events flooded his mind, and a tiny sob escaped his lips at the thought of Logan. His friend had committed an act of bravery, but now he may never see him again. That realization cut through his gut like a knife. Logan could be dead.

Kendall shook the horrible thoughts from his mind, determined to come up with a plan to save Logan and get his friends to safety, when he suddenly realized that the van was no longer moving. The blonde sat up and blinked through the darkness. James was still huddled close to him. His shivering wasn't quite as intense and his flesh wasn't as heated anymore, though he was still warm with a fever. The van was quiet save for the sounds of soft breathing, indicating that Carlos and Katie were still fast asleep, but Kendall could hear the faint murmur of voices outside of the van.

Using his unhurt hand and cradling the broken one to his chest, Kendall inched his way to the wall of the van and pressed his ear tightly to the metal surface, concentrating on the voices. He could just barely make out what the voices were saying, but he recognized them as Marcus and Steve.

".._Boss man gave us orders, Steve! It's either them or us!"_

"_I'm not doing it! If David has a problem then he can come to me about it!"_

"_You're really gonna bail on us? David is going to murder your ass! He'll shoot you on the spot! Nobody messes with his plans! Listen man, it's almost over. All we gotta do is off the kids, bring Kendall to David and we're free men! We will have paid our dues! But if you go against orders, you're fucking it all up!"_

"_Come on guys, wrap it up! David's waiting! He wants Kendall by tomorrow night. We have 20 hours," _A new voice, Alex's, called out.

The voices stopped and the sounds of doors slamming could be heard, followed by the van engine roaring to life. Whoever was driving slammed on the gas pedal, sending Kendall lurching forward. He didn't care though. His body was numb as everything began to dawn on him.

That's what they meant by saying David wanted him all to himself. He didn't want the other boys. Just Kendall.

That's what they meant when they said his friends were good as dead anyway. Because at this very moment, their deaths were being planned out, and Kendall had less than 20 hours to save them.

-Silence-Silence-Silence-

Logan shivered in his seats, glancing every so often at the wretched man driving beside him. Not that he could see well, anyway. Both eyes were practically swollen shut now. After Logan took off in a run, he had nearly made it outside. He was so close to salvation, when David had grabbed him from seemingly out of nowhere. All Logan could do was stand there timidly and cry out for Kendall, feeling completely helpless. David was so much bigger than him, and he had known with the sickest feeling in his gut that he would be punished for trying to run away.

"_Kendall can't help you now, baby,"_ David had whispered in his ear, before picking him up easily and shoving him into his pickup truck.

The suspense was the worst part. Wondering if David was going to kill him just because it would be the easiest thing to do, or if his punishment might be something much, much worse.

David had pulled off into an empty field and yanked Logan out of the van. Logan was sure he was going to die then and there. He was miles and miles, hours or even days away from home. Nobody was around. Nobody would know where he was or how he had died. His mother wouldn't have closure, because his body would be rotting in this field for years or possibly forever, because nobody would ever be able to find him.

But David didn't kill him. Instead, he had beaten Logan nearly to death. He was punched in the gut so many times that he actually heard his own ribs crack and he threw up all over himself. Blood splattered everywhere with a swift jab to his nose, and he knew immediately that it was broken. His head was slammed against the ground, his body was bruised and battered, his face was pummeled and he was so agonizingly close to death, but David stopped. He didn't kill him.

"_Why don't you just kill me?" _Logan had choked out, spitting out some of his own blood, gagging on the taste. Death would be a sweet relief now, because the pain he was in now was unbearable. He just wanted to die.

"_I won't give you the satisfaction," _David whispered, almost giddily. _"You're being punished, remember? I have one more job for you to do. I was going to have my buddies do it, but I'm going to let you do it. And then I promise, you will die. Don't you worry. I'll let you die soon. But not yet, baby. Not yet."_

With that, David had wrapped his fat fingers around Logan's hair and pulled him into the pickup truck.

Logan felt sick as he remembered every detail of the beating he had taken. It was hard to breathe with his cracked ribs, and he had to sit in an extremely uncomfortable position in order to save his internal organs from being punctured.

"Where are my friends?" Logan croaked out. He could even feel his lips, being that they were swollen as well. He was probably missing a few teeth, too, but he wasn't sure.

David cackled. Logan did his best to glare at the man. He wanted to know what was going to happen to Kendall, James and Carlos. He wouldn't be able to die peacefully without knowing his friends were okay.

"You'll find out soon, buddy. Don't you worry," David cooed. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing."

**A/N I think this might be the scariest chapter yet. At least for me, anyway. I won't take 7 months to update again, I promise. Thanks to anybody still reading this story. I gotta go eat a pizza now. Love you guys! Oh, and review? They are the pepperonis to my pizza. Hahaha. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N So this is up later then I wanted it to be but I've been so busy with work not to mention I was in Dallas for a while! I met the guys asdfhkhfdssd I'm still freaking out! Logan called me sweetheart and James gave me the sweetest hug. It was amazing. The concert was crazy great. I made the mistake of rushing the aisles to get to James and Kendall when they came out into the audience lol. Something told me it was a good idea but omg it was so intense it was worse than the wall of death at a bullet for my valentine show I went to once. Anyway, I got to the front and Kendall and James were literally 2 feet away from me singing to my face adekfgkdfgjfgj but I ended up spending the whole time helping the security guard keep everyone from trampling Kendall cuz the guard was kinda old and looked like he was about to have a heart attack and nearly fell so you hear that Kendall I helped save your life you're welcome lol. But yeah BTR concerts are pretty much the greatest thing in life nothing makes me happier omg.**

**Oh and thanks SO much for the reviews and reads! I thought most of you would have forgotten this story, but all of the feedback has inspired me to post more. However, for the anon reviewer: If I disappoint you so much why are you even reading my stories? Trying to please hundreds of readers who all want different things in a story is a little difficult but I try my best. I would rather you not read and review if you're gonna be negative. Okay go take your misery elsewhere byeee lol. **

**For the rest of my lovely amazing readers: Enjoy **

Steve gripped the steering wheel of the van with white knuckles as he drove down the desolate, moon-lit road towards their destination. He knew the teenagers hidden behind him needed food and water, but he didn't have it in him to pull over and see the kids in such a poor state. They were slowly wasting away in the back of the van. They were dying. There was nothing he could do about it. David would have his way. He always got his way.

He had never meant for the teenagers to be brutalized like this. He had thought it was just going to be some kind of hostage situation. He knew David had violent tendencies, but in the 5 years he had worked with him, he had never thought the crazed man could be capable of something like this. He had underestimated him.

But Steve wanted no part of this. Not anymore. It was too much. The kids would die either way, but he wanted out now. It had finally gone too far.

"Hey, let's stop off for food up here and stay the night. We have to hit the road early tomorrow," Marcus grumbled, pointing to a rest stop up ahead. Without even a blink, Steve pulled off into the parking lot and stopped the van.

"Should we let the kids out?" Alex asked, jabbing a finger towards the back of the van.

"Are you nuts? They're all over the news, even in a tiny town like this," Marcus said. "They don't deserve to come out anyway. Keep them locked up."

"David will kill us if we let Kendall die back there," Alex reminded them.

"He's right," Marcus groaned, rubbing a tired hand over his face. "One of ya get them some water and make sure they aren't dead. Steve, go check on them would ya?"

Steve just sighed and watched the two evil men leave the van and head for the restaurant to fill their greedy stomachs before crawling out of the van and making his way to the back. In the back of his mind he sort of hoped the kids were dead now, so it would finally all be over. But when he opened the door with a loud, metallic creak, he was met with a pair of green eyes glowing in the moonlight, staring right at him. He scanned the rest of the bodies with his flashlight to find them all asleep, but still breathing.

"Hey kid," Steve grumbled, casting his gaze downward. He couldn't look into those innocent emerald eyes that were begging for help and relief. "How's the hand?"

Kendall ignored the question. He had more important things on his mind besides his hand. His pain hardly mattered at the moment.

"Have you heard from Logan?" He asked desperately. His voice was dry, cracked, and pained with obvious dehydration. Steve shook his head as he pulled water bottles and crackers from his backpack.

"Do you at least know if he's alive? Tell me!" Kendall pleaded, reaching out to grab Steve's arm. "Please. I have to know."

Steve refused to answer him. He was shaking out several pills from a bottle into his hand.

"Why won't you answer me?" Kendall practically screamed. He threw his head back with frustration, tears leaking out and pouring down his face.

"Take these, they will help you sleep and take away the pain," Steve said emotionlessly, his face a blank canvas as he handed Kendall a bottle of medicine.

Kendall knocked the bottle from Steve's hand. The pills spilt to the ground with a soft clatter.

"I don't care about the pain! Nothing matters except Logan! He can't be dead!"

Steve ignored the hysterical boy, pouring pills and water down James, Carlos and Katie's throats. Kendall just cried, too weak to fight Steve. The man worked silently and briskly, glancing back at the helpless, hurt teen every once in a while.

"I know what they're planning to do to us," Kendall suddenly choked out. He was whispering now, staring at his little sister who was curled up next to Carlos. He hoped she wouldn't wake up anytime soon. She was in a place far away from this hell and he wanted her to stay that way.

Shocked, Steve finally made eye contact with Kendall, speechless.

"Can't you save us?" Kendall begged. "Come on, you've been keeping us alive this whole time, and now you're going to let us die, just like that?"

"I'm sorry," Steve said blandly, swinging his pack back over his shoulders. He began to close the doors, but before the last one slammed shut, he could hear Kendall whisper, "I won't go with him. I'll die before I go with him."

Steve believed him. That boy would fight David tooth and nail, but he knew it would be useless. Nobody ever beat David before, and certainly a teenager would not be the first.

Kendall gritted his teeth in the stifling darkness, struggling to keep the sobs that so desperately needed loose at bay. He had never been so terrified in his life. He wasn't scared for himself, though; his panic was for Logan, wondering what his best friend's fate had been and if he was even, by some grace of God, still alive.

At his side, Kendall felt slight movement, followed by a soft moan. The sounds broke Kendall of the debilitating thoughts. The blonde straightened up, his mind alert with the hope that James would be awake. He needed someone right now. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"James? Wake up buddy, it's me," Kendall said in a hushed voice, wrapping an arm underneath James' head and tilting him upright a bit. James didn't wake up, he only thrashed in his sleep, as if his mind was taken over by a nightmare, and he was mumbling something almost inaudible. Kendall leaned down close to James lips to hear him repeating Logan's name over and over. His face was wet, as if he were sweating really bad or crying, or both.

"James you have to wake up! It's just a dream, buddy. I'm right here. It's okay," Kendall soothed, no longer on the brink of hysteria with fear. Playing big brother always was the one thing that kept him sane. He shook James gently while stroking his forehead, trying to coax the feverish boy awake. At last, James woke with a start, screaming out for Logan, his body rigid before relaxing in Kendall's arms.

"Ssh, ssh, it's alright," Kendall whispered. He rocked James slowly, hugging him to his chest.

"Kendall… Where's Logan?" James asked in a pitifully tiny voice.

Kendall squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in the long, silky waves of James' hair.

When Kendall couldn't answer him, James knew immediately that something was wrong. He had a horrible dream that Logan was in extreme danger. He knew deep inside him that his friend was hurt and needed help.

"He can't be dead," James whimpered. "Not Logie."

"He'll be okay," Kendall said, though he wasn't sure if he could believe his own words. "He's smart, and he's quick, and he's so much stronger then David thinks. We'll see him again. We'll save him and then I will beat David to death for trying to take him from us I swear to God. It's not over yet. I'm gonna fight back. Nobody is going to die under my watch…" Kendall trailed off, wondering if he should tell James the sick plan that David had for his friends, but then he thought better of it. Why scare him anymore than he already was? James deserved to have at least some sort of peace, however short-lived it might be.

"I hate it here," James admitted. He was now resting with his head on Kendall's lap, curled up into a tight ball to try to ease some of the pain he was in. "It's dark and I can hardly breathe. It's _too _dark."

"I know buddy, we'll be out soon enough," Kendall assured him. James had hated the dark ever since they were little kids. "How are you feeling?"

"I hurt," James admitted. "Everything hurts and I'm dizzy. I'm so tired."

"You're tired because of the medicine you're on. You should go back to sleep."

"_No_. I don't want any more nightmares. I want to stay awake with you. Please don't let me fall asleep again, okay?"

"Okay buddy, I won't," Kendall promised, continuing the steady motions of massaging James' scalp and passing his fingers through his long, soft locks, instantly soothing the taller boy. James grew quiet, lost in his own mind. Kendall couldn't tell what he was thinking, if he was maybe reliving the nightmarish events of the past few days or maybe pretending he was back home, safe and sound. Every once in a while he would let out a shiver or moan, but Kendall was quick to shush him.

"Where are we?" James suddenly questioned about an hour later, sitting up straight so quickly that his head spun. He put a hand to his temple, his other hand reaching out to Kendall, since he couldn't see in the pitch darkness.

"I'm here," Kendall said, grasping James' hand in his and pulling him close. "And what do you mean? We're in the van James, remember? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but we've stopped moving. That means we are somewhere. Do you think they'll let us out, Kendall?"

Kendall didn't answer, because he was fairly certain of what was going to happen when they were let out of the van.

"Kendall?"

"It's better that we stay in here, James. Trust me."

**A/N Thanks for reading! Happy Sunday! I'm gonna go pig out on Mexican food now wheeeee. Reviews (nice ones) are always loved and appreciated. ** **I'll update asap **** I never forget about my readers! xxx**


End file.
